One year ago on June 6th, 2023 Major League Baseball was introduced to the Cincinnati Reds’ number one prospect, Elly De La Cruz. Elly hits the ball harder than everyone else, farther than everyone else, throws the ball faster than everyone else, and in his own words is “the fastest man in the world.” Ellys’ debut gave a glimpse into the future for the Cincinnati Reds. In the month of June, Elly would have a batting average of .307, slug .523 and an OPS at .881. He would also have an OPS+ of 147. OPS+ measures a players performance, with 100 being league average, Elly was 47% above league average. June would have Elly hit a baseball nearly out of the stadium, the first cycle by a Red since 1989, and a 12 game winning streak. The Reds have good, young talent, Elly brings the fans to the ballpark.

Eventually, like most rookies, there would be a learning curve. Elly would struggle with the strikeout for the remainder of the year. There would still be flashes of greatness. On July 8th, Elly would hit a single to left. He would steal 2nd, the next pitch he would steal 3rd without a throw. When the catcher tossed the ball back to the pitcher, Elly broke for home and stole home. Elly stole 3 bases on 2 pitches. Elly would finish 2023 with a batting average at .235, 13 home runs, 35 stolen bases and an OPS+ at 100.

2024 saw Elly get off to a hot start in April. Elly would bat .279, hit 8 home runs and steal 18 bases. Elly struggled with the strikeout early in March and April, but really started to cut down his strikeouts. He would walk 17 times and strikeout 37 times in 104 at bats. May and June have not been so good, however. He would bat .208 and strike out 40 times in May, and so far in June he’s hitting .184 and struck out 10 times in 38 at bats.

So, what do I think Elly is, and what can he be?

Elly De La Cruz is the new face of the Cincinnati Reds. Now that Joey Votto is no longer in the clubs plans, Elly is the one bringing fans to the stadium. You never know what the 22 year old phenom will do any given night, and that is his downfall. Elly has so much potential and can do so many things, that when he doesn’t do them every night, people think he’s failing. He’s learning.

We are 1 full year into the career journey of Elly De La Cruz and he has given hope to a fan base that frankly, hasn’t had any for quite some time. The fan base isn’t happy with ownership, Nick Krall has done a phenomenal job of reconstructing this team into an Atlanta Braves/Tampa Bay Rays type roster. Unless ownership sees a major influx of money, or new ownership takes over, we’ll never see Cincinnati spend what teams like the Dodgers, Angels, Yankees and Mets spend, but they don’t have to.

The Reds have a very talented young core of Matt McLain, Noelvi Marte, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, TJ Friedl, Nick Lodolo, Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott and loads of young prospects in the pipeline. Not to mention they hold the 2nd pick in the 2024 MLB Draft where they could land a generation power bat in Travis Bazzana or Charlie Condon.

Elly De La Cruz transcends all of these players if he continues to put in the work and develop, which I believe he will. He’s made unbelievable strides in just one off-season. The sky is the limit and he might just go beyond that. Elly De La Cruz has the potential to be the best player in all of baseball, and if the power and speed are there long term, he might become one of the greatest players of all time. But, only time will tell.

Photo Credit; USA Today

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