Elly De La Cruz Has Quietly Been Fantastic for the Reds in 2026

The Cincinnati Reds have been led by Sal Stewart early in the season, who has quickly become one of the best young hitters in the game. Stewart is the top candidate for the National League Rookie of the Year award at this point, but he's not the only Reds star who's been fantastic.

In fact, Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz is in the middle of a breakout year of his own.

Elly De La Cruz Has Been Fantastic in 2026

Apr 18, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly de la Cruz (44) prepares to field the ball against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images | Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

De La Cruz has been fantastic. He's slashing .261/.337/.523 early in the season, which would give him a career high OPS by 50 points. He's already slugged six home runs and five doubles, which is why his slugging percentage is so high. And he's doing this without swinging a lot, only posting a 39 percent swing rate and a 55 percent zone swing rate. But this has improved his out-of-zone swing rate, which is only 24 percent as of Monday.

But when De La Cruz does swing, he does damage. He ranks near the top of the league in average exit velocity, 90th percentile exit velocity, max exit velocity, bat speed, and a slew of other metrics. He's swinging the ball up as much as he ever has, and it's translating to a much higher slugging percentage.

As always, his base running has been electric. De La Cruz has manufactured multiple runs on his own this season, which has led to an above-average Baserunning Run Value, per Baseball Savant. But he's also improved his defense. While he was below average in most metrics last season, he holds a 1 Fielding Run Value and 1 Out Above Average, both being above league average at this point.

MLB.com's Mark Sheldon recently highlighted De La Cruz's improved ability to hit as a right-handed hitter this season as one of the early emergences that should continue all season.

Elly De La Cruz Has Looked Much Better Against LHP This Year

"Last season, the switch-hitting De La Cruz had five of his 22 overall home runs in 200 right-handed at-bats. His OPS was also more than 200 points lower from the right side than left," Sheldon wrote. "In 2026, De La Cruz showed marked improvement. Entering Saturday, he already has four homers in only 26 right-handed ABs and six dingers overall. His OPS is better righty (1.066) than lefty (.819). The 24-year-old has shortened his right-handed swing, which allows him to see the ball longer and make better decisions while flexing some opposite-field power."

Hitting southpaws has always been De La Cruz's weakness. In his career, his OPS is 200 points lower against lefties than it is against righties. Last season, he hit 17 home runs against righties, but only five home runs in 199 at-bats against lefties. This season, he's already hit four home runs in 27 at-bats against southpaws.

With this improvement, the Reds will likely stop seeing left-handed pitchers come into the game late to face De La Cruz. Typically, these relievers are brought in to face TJ Friedl, the No. 2 hitter, and De La Cruz. His emergence against southpaws makes this strategy much harder to pull off.

Make sure you bookmark Cincinnati Reds Talk for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and daily coverage of the Cincinnati Reds! Follow Cincinnati Reds OnSI on Twitter/X: @RedsTalkSI. Like Our Cincinnati Reds On SI Facebook Page. Follow Cincinnati Reds On SI on Instagram.

Add us as a preferred source on Google