The Reds are one of the most exciting teams in the MLB because they have so much young talent on their team. The front office hasn’t pair that very well with veteran stars, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth watching.
One of the more electric players in the league is Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz. He’s hard to miss on he diamond standing at 6-5, and is blazing fast. De La Cruz has the potential of hitting balls way out of the park, while also hitting a single and then stealing second, third and home to get Cincinnati a run on the ground.
Cincinnati opened its spring training schedule with split squad games against the Guardians and the Brewers. De La Cruz was with the team taking on Cleveland, and he didn’t waste any time. He treated the crowd to a show, looking like he is in midseason form already.
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Elly De La Cruz spring debut
De La Cruz could easily join the 30/30 club this season if not the 40/40 club. He certainly has the speed, so the stolen bases should only be a matter of time.
The biggest hindrance to his joining this elusive club is his power numbers. De La Cruz can easily it home runs, but when he gets into a rut, his strikeout rate increases and he isn’t able to get the proper launch angle on the ball.
In his spring debut against Cleveland, De La Cruz gave fans a glimpse of what his ceiling looks like. In the bottom of the first inning, the shortstop took a 2-2 pitch from Triston McKenzie deep to right center.
Elly De La Cruz home runs have returned 😎 #SpringTraining pic.twitter.com/0Ry3swpuum
— MLB (@MLB) February 22, 2025
De La Cruz came back up in the fourth inning, this time facing lefty Logan Allen. The shortstop took the other batters box since he is a switch hitter, but he had the same result. De La Cruz got a 91-mph four-seam fastball down the middle and didn’t miss it. He sent it 409 feet to right center.
Elly De La Cruz has homered from both sides of the plate today! #SpringTraining pic.twitter.com/JY6XQM9RMJ
— MLB (@MLB) February 22, 2025
Spring training games, especially early on, tend to see teams sub in several players so more people can get reps. De La Cruz’s day is done, as Dominic Pitelli replaced him. The starting shortstop finished the game 2-2 with two home runs, two RBI and two runs.
Elly De La Cruz career stats
De La Cruz was born in the Dominican Republic in 2002. He was signed by Cincinnati as an international free agent in 2018 when he was 16. De La Cruz made his MLB debut in 2023, and has became the Reds’ every day shortstop.
| Year | Games | Average | HRs | RBI | OBP | SLG | OPS | WAR | SB |
| 2023 | 98 | .235 | 13 | 44 | .300 | .410 | .710 | 0.8 | 35 |
| 2024 | 160 | .259 | 25 | 76 | .339 | .471 | .809 | 5.2 | 67 |
| Total | 258 | .250 | 38 | 120 | .324 | .447 | .771 | 6.0 | 102 |
Elly De La Cruz video game cover
Earlier this spring, De La Cruz released a video where it seemed like he leaked that he would be the cover athlete for “MLB: The Show 25.” He was the favorite to grace the cover of the video game along with Royals standout shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.
After De La Cruz released his video, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes released a video saying he thought he was the cover athlete. Similarly, Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson released a video saying he was told that he was the cover athlete. All of this led to the announcement that for the first time in the video game’s history, there would be a shared cover featuring a group of young stars. De La Cruz becomes the first Reds player to be on the cover of an “MLB: The Show” video game.
The stars of today and tomorrow:
Elly De la Cruz ⚡
Paul Skenes 🔥
Gunnar Henderson 💪Your #MLBTheShow25 Cover Athletes! 😤⚾#ForgeYourJourney and pre-order on February 4th.
Available on March 18.Learn more at https://t.co/baliy5VGpN pic.twitter.com/5npCRnCTv9
— MLB The Show (@MLBTheShow) January 28, 2025
