Elly De La Cruz has gone from electrifying talent to the Cincinnati Reds’ clear center of gravity, and through May he was being treated as the club’s team MVP. He has put together a.279/.346/.509 line with 12 home runs, one triple, 13 doubles and nine stolen bases, production that has helped keep Cincinnati in the race at 29-27.
That kind of output is why De La Cruz is being described as a true superstar rather than merely a hot stretch waiting to cool off. He has been one of the best players in baseball this season, and the label fits because he is not only hitting for power and speed but doing it while holding up the everyday demands of shortstop.
The numbers behind the surge are the kind that change a player’s standing. Through May, Bleacher Report’s Zachary Rymer pointed to a.282/.347/.516 line from an everyday shortstop and noted that there was nothing wrong with those numbers. De La Cruz has also turned into a much more dangerous hitter from the left side of the plate, where he now owns a.971 OPS against lefties after once peaking at.661.
That development matters because the Reds were supposed to be driven by their pitching staff. Instead, injuries to Hunter Greene, Rhett Lowder and Brandon Williamson have shifted the burden onto the offense, and that is where De La Cruz has become indispensable. The offense started badly, but it has been more solid lately, and his steadiness has helped cover for the rotation problems that changed the shape of the season.
There is still a familiar caution around him because De La Cruz had spent years on the cusp of stardom, flashing talent in bursts but not always sustaining it. This year has been different enough to make the question sharper: if he keeps this level through the rest of the season, the Reds will not just have an MVP candidate — they may have the kind of star around whom every future October plan gets built.
