How Elly De La Cruz can go from 'very good' to great for Reds

How Elly De La Cruz can go from 'very good' to great for Reds originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Cincinnati Reds are still in the postseason hunt, but they have a lot of ground to make up. 

Cincinnati is 5.5 games back of the third and final NL Wild Card spot. 

To clinch a second consecutive berth, the Reds will need shortstop Elly De La Cruz to have a very strong final few months. 

De La Cruz's mix of speed and power makes him one of the more electrifying players in the Majors. The 24-year-old is already a two-time All-Star and has accumulated 12.9 bWAR in 520 games. 

But ESPN's Jeff Passan believes there's still room for improvement. 

"At 24 years old, De La Cruz remains one of the game's most irresistible talents. The size, the power, the speed, the position, the switch-hitting -- everything is there for him to launch himself into top-five player territory," Passan wrote. 

ESPN ranked De La Cruz as the 19th-best player in the Majors in 2026. The Dominican Republic native has 20 home runs and 21 stolen bases, along with 18 doubles and 127 OPS+. 

"Cutting down the strikeouts would help. As would improving on his left-handed stroke, which has a .774 OPS compared to 1.092 from the right side," Passan added about how De La Cruz can improve his offensive game. "Perhaps it's best put this way: De La Cruz is very good; greatness is coming." 

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De La Cruz led the Majors with 218 strikeouts in 2024 and owns an elevated 26.6% strikeout percentage this season. 

For as fast as he is, De La Cruz might be better off putting the ball on the ground and/or trying to increase his walk rate. 

But that's a lot easier said than done. 

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