Cincinnati Reds Legend Joey Votto Admits He Had Doubts About Elly De La Cruz

Joey Votto has seen plenty of highly touted prospects come through the Cincinnati Reds organization, so he wasn't ready to buy into the Elly De La Cruz hype right away.

Despite De La Cruz's incredible physical tools, Votto admitted he had his doubts about whether everything would eventually come together. Over time, however, De La Cruz did more than enough to change his mind.

"I've seen a ton of prospects come through, and certainly those with tools," Votto said on the Riverfront Territory Podcast. "So I withheld my optimism. You know, I had my doubts. A longer guy, a strikeout guy, error-prone guy in the field, reckless on the bases, reckless at the plate, but he just kept putting together really good seasons, and that is undeniable."

Eventually though, Elly's production and work ethic became impossible for Votto to ignore.

"Then I was interested to see, how is he going to carry over in the major leagues? I think that Elly's best tool probably is his combination of drive and humility. He has that sort of 'F you' mentality. I am going to get this done. I loved that he got told no from the WBC and that he was angry about that. And he thought, you know, I am going to make you pay. I love that."

For a player who has all of the talent in the world, you'd think Votto would praise his physical tools. However, Votto clearly values the little things like drive, humility and being a great teammate, and he believes those qualities are a big reason De La Cruz is becoming great.

"I love that he plays every day. A lot of guys, especially speed guys, want to protect their speed. The guy played 162 games last year after stealing something like 60 bases the year before."

Votto Compares Elly De La Cruz to Barry Larkin

Cincinnati Reds special assistant Barry Larkin observes individual defensive drills during spring training workouts, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, at the team s spring training facility in Goodyear, Ariz. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

That willingness to show up every day and continue putting in the work is a big part of what has impressed Votto most about De La Cruz. His praise goes well beyond what De La Cruz is capable of doing on the field.

"The man is impressive because he has great character. Teammates love him, coaches love him, and I think that every day when he gets done, he knows that he put in as much work as he possibly could to be a better version of himself, and he happens to be doing it in a Reds uniform. As Barry would say, he's the best shortstop since Barry, and Barry is the best shortstop in Reds history."

Votto mentioning De La Cruz in the same sentence as Larkin shows you how highly he think of him.

While Votto wasn't ready to crown De La Cruz based on talent alone or his minor league numbers, he had plenty of questions about what type of player the shortstop would become. De La Cruz has quickly answered many of those questions, and it's clear he's turned Votto into one of his biggest believers.

You can watch Votto's full interview with C. Trent Rosecrans here.

Add us as a preferred source on Google