Trust What You've Seen So Far From Cincinnati Reds Star Elly De La Cruz

Spring training is a tough time for baseball fans. We all want to read and react to what is going on in the games, but these guys are largely just getting themselves ready for the season.

There is one thing I am wholeheartedly buying from the early Cincinnati Reds spring training performances, though, and that is Elly De La Cruz.

I want to clarify this by saying: I do not believe the batting average will stay above .500 all year. What I am saying is that I think the changes he has made to his game are real and will get De La Cruz to that next level we all see him reaching.

Coming into camp there were reports of De La Cruz deploying a new batting stance. New elements to a player’s game is one of the most over-reported parts of spring training (right up there with “best shape of their life” reports) but this looks legitimate.

He is much more balanced in his approach to each pitch. His new, shorter leg kick (really more of a step, now) keeps him back win the ball and allows him to make the necessary adjustments to the pitch he sees. He is letting pitches get deeper into the strike zone before contact which means he has shortened up an already blazing fast swing.

Possibly the biggest change, though, has been his patience. For example, against the Cubs on Monday, De La Cruz drew a five-pitch walk. He laid off of five straight pitches, not even taking a half-swing at one of them. I cannot remember an at-bat from 2024 where he took five-straight pitches. If patience becomes a consistent part of his game at the plate, I see no reason why he wont be top-3 in MVP voting.

Some folks are losing their minds over the numbers, but for me it’s about what I have seen with De La Cruz. So far this spring, I have seen very good things that seem to indicate his game is about to ascend into the stratosphere.

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