Elly De La Cruz Quietly Putting Together the Best Offensive Season of His Career

The most discussed player on the Cincinnati Reds this season has been Sal Stewart, and rightfully so. He has emerged as one of the best pure hitters not just on the Reds' roster, but in all of Major League Baseball as a rookie.

The Reds infielder is hitting .255 with 24 home runs and a league-leading 86 RBIs. He has an .814 OPS and recorded the most RBIs by a rookie before the month of August since 1975, putting his name alongside players such as Albert Pujols, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco and Jose Abreu.

However, as good as Stewart has been, it almost feels like fans are taking Elly De La Cruz for granted. The five-tool shortstop is hitting .270 with six home runs and 15 RBIs since returning from injury in June. He also has an .854 OPS in those 35 games as he has emerged as a quality hitter, showing both power and contact on a consistent basis. He has expanded his hitting zone, as evidenced by Tuesday night's two-run single on a pitch well above the strike zone, slapping it into left field to bring the Reds within a run. Cincinnati ultimately won 5-4. 

It felt like early in his career De La Cruz was truly guessing, and when he guessed right, everyone knew it. However, he often struggled with plate discipline, as pitchers repeatedly attacked him with sliders on his back foot, leading to a high number of strikeouts. Now, De La Cruz still strikes out at a rate well above the league average, but he is on pace to strike out 193 times over a full 162-game season. He will not play all 162 games because of the hamstring injury he suffered in late May, but that projected strikeout total is 25 fewer than in his first full season in 2024.

According to Baseball Savant, De La Cruz is having the best season of his career in both sweet-spot percentage and expected slugging percentage. His hard-hit rate is up to 52.7%, which is 6.8 percentage points higher than his previous career best, set in a relatively small sample size in 2023. His strikeout rate is 27% in 2026, nearly seven percentage points lower than his debut season in 2023 and 4.3 percentage points lower than in 2024.

De La Cruz also has a 3.5 WAR this season, which ranks among the top 50 players in the league. His career WAR now sits at 13.

The Boston Red Sox contacted the Reds about the possibility of trading for De La Cruz before the trade deadline, but nothing ultimately came from those discussions. Cincinnati has not been shy about being willing to listen to offers for De La Cruz, but it appears the Reds would have to be completely blown away to part with one of their best players and one of the most dynamic talents in the league.