MLB Experts Have Elly De La Cruz Near Top of MVP Race Behind Shohei Ohtani

Elly has been. fantastic to start the season.

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly de la Cruz (44) runs the bases after hitting his 10th home run of the season in the eighth inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Colorado Rockies at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. The Reds won the opening game of the series, 7-2. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It's never too early to start thinking about awards. Cincinnati Reds fans all around are ready to crown Sal Stewart as the National League Rookie of the Year with 5 months to go in the season, so an MVP has to be in the talks for shortstop Elly De La Cruz. MLB writers agree with this sentiment.

In an early MVP poll from MLB.com, 39 experts have Elly De La Cruz ranked second in the National League race, trailing only Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers. De La Cruz is ahead of Matt Olson, Corbin Carroll, and division rival Nico Hoerner, an early sign of just how impactful he has been this season.

De La Cruz ended the first month of April on fire. The Reds shortstop was 2nd amongst shortstops in home runs with 8, RBI with 22, and fWAR at 1.5. The biggest growth we've seen so far from Elly has been his ability to hit from the right side of the plate. From the right side of the plate, De La Cruz has a slash line of .263/.354/.434 vs left-handed pitching, with 4 home runs and 11 RBI. He also has a homer as a righty off of a right-handed pitcher... It was a position player pitching for Tampa Bay, but that still looks the same on the back of the baseball card.

Elly's defense has taken a big step forward so far this season as well. He currently sits in the 98th percentile for Outs Above Average, and 90th percentile for Arm Strength. Obviously, his speed is always one of his better tools, where he is in the 68th percentile, to go along with his 8 stolen bases, which is good for 10th in the Major Leagues.

While naysayers continue to focus on his strikeouts, Elly is showing his five-tool status that had us all anticipating his call-up to the Majors in 2023. As he goes, it feels the Reds go too. Elly and Sal Stewart have been dynamic to start the season for the Reds, and if they can get some more help offensively from Eugenio Suarez, the currently hot swinging Nathaniel Lowe, JJ Bleday, and a few others, the Reds can make that run we all want to see, and help Elly De La Cruz stay in the NL MVP conversation. Only time will tell, but his start is something to marvel at, setting a historic pace in Reds history.