Elly De La Cruz

[Ron Madden]

Elly De La Cruz

On a Reds team full of standout rookies, De La Cruz’s 2023 season was different from the rest. He was a 21-year-old, 6-foot-6 shortstop who set records with his raw power, his speed and his arm strength.

He immediately became one of the faces of the sport, and he had to handle that while he went through a tough second half slide at the plate.

The Reds knew that De La Cruz had a lot of work to do to live up to his long-term potential. They got biomechanics experts involved in the process of analyzing his swing.

Hitting coach Joel McKeithan made two offseason trips to work with the Reds’ shortstop. De La Cruz worked on new hitting drills, shortened his swing, reduced his leg kick and took his strength training to another level.

But the first step toward a very productive offseason for one of the most exciting players in MLB had little to do with baseball. He recognized all of the lessons that he still had to figure out.

“Elly had a lot that he dealt with and a lot thrown at him in Year 1,” Bell said.

“This kid got called up last year, and the poor kid had everybody pulling at him,” Freddie Benavides said. “Everyone wanted a piece of him."

Bell stressed that there weren’t any red flags with De La Cruz’s attitude in 2023. De La Cruz’s love for the game is infectious, and his competitiveness is on display every time he takes the extra base.

But the Reds are also preparing for a rare level of hype surrounding De La Cruz.

If he makes the leap that the Reds expect to see in 2024, then he has the potential to become one of the most popular athletes in sports.

Bell and the Reds coaching staff have been working with De La Cruz to get ready for that moment.

Read More Here:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb...ar/ar-BB1ilkuY

[TRF]

I just watched a video of every ballparks longest HR. EDLC had the longest HR in 4 of them.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Elly De La Cruz
Read More Here:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb...ar/ar-BB1ilkuY

This article is fantastic, Ron. Nice find.

Love that the Reds are focusing on both a personal and analytical approach. Hope it proves successful.

[Ron Madden]

This article is fantastic, Ron. Nice find.

Love that the Reds are focusing on both a personal and analytical approach. Hope it proves successful.

I thought it was an excellent article and that more folks would be interested in reading it.

[AlaskaReds]

I thought it was an excellent article and that more folks would be interested in reading it.

Definitely a great article. I sent it to my dad, who in turn told me thanks for sending it to him. So we both thank you.

[Bourgeois Zee]

I thought it was an excellent article and that more folks would be interested in reading it.

I'm excited to see EDLC's new batting stance-- and to see how that impacts the authority with which he hits the ball. (If at all.)

He's appointment viewing anyway-- but this is yet another layer.

[Alf_Red_E]

He should have spent the 2nd half of last season at AAA. It was sickening to watch him at the plate apparently clueless, unwilling or unable to change

I hope he gets it together, I wouldn't be surprised if he spends some time in AAA except Reds management is more about the hype and would like to avoid a AAA stint

[Kilgore_Trout]

He should have spent the 2nd half of last season at AAA. It was sickening to watch him at the plate apparently clueless, unwilling or unable to change

I hope he gets it together, I wouldn't be surprised if he spends some time in AAA except Reds management is more about the hype and would like to avoid a AAA stint

Sickening? Okay.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching him. His struggles were rough. I’m excited to see how he adjusts.

[Ron Madden]

Cincinnati Reds Have Budding Superstar in Elly De La Cruz

The Cincinnati Reds have a budding superstar in Elly De La Cruz. That designation would seem to surprise some in Reds country. If that’s you, shame on you.

De La Cruz showed off his three 70-grade skills quite a few times last year. Baseball America rated his power, speed, and arm as a 70 on the 20-80 scale.

He was just the third player since 1901 to hit for the cycle in his first 15 career MLB games. He was the youngest to do it since a 20-year old Cesar Cedeno accomplished the feat in 1972.

De La Cruz stole second, third, and home plate in the span of two pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers. He has all the hard hit records for the club and he hasn’t even played a full season.

Yet there are some who would question his hold on, not only a starting job, but a spot in the big leagues. This is nonsense.

Baseball is a majestic sport for its myriad of stats. You can make just about any argument you want about a player by singling out specific stats. That is what some are trying to do with De La Cruz by harping on his batting average and strikeout percentage.

I can do that, too.

Stop trying to find ways to explain why De La Cruz is going to be a bust. It's time for everyone to start enjoying the regular displays of awesomeness we will undoubtedly see from him this season.

Continue Reading Full Story Here:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb...uz/ar-BB1ioQZ7

[Larry Schuler]

He should have spent the 2nd half of last season at AAA. It was sickening to watch him at the plate apparently clueless, unwilling or unable to change

I hope he gets it together, I wouldn't be surprised if he spends some time in AAA except Reds management is more about the hype and would like to avoid a AAA stint

You did a good job of expressing what a lot of us feel and without including any specific language or details that can result in a ban. Thank you for this.

[j.u.FAIRFIIELD]

Putting Elly back in Triple-A would have served only to let him play out the season without the stress. He would not have gotten better or improved his swing. The pitching in Triple-A is a steaming joke.

There are almost no players who hit the ball harder, run the bases better or show more range.

[JustaFan]

well-written article with detail on improving seldom read in a baseball story. I left wondering how many other Reds had such visits by coaches over the last months. Was he the only one or were others, who also could improve disected with a detail in project development and then worked with. The other take-away was that he was a willing player who owned the improvements.

Again, I can only wonder how many players, will or will not accept such 'recommendations."

[Bourgeois Zee]

well-written article with detail on improving seldom read in a baseball story. I left wondering how many other Reds had such visits by coaches over the last months. Was he the only one or were others, who also could improve disected with a detail in project development and then worked with. The other take-away was that he was a willing player who owned the improvements.

Again, I can only wonder how many players, will or will not accept such 'recommendations."

I suspect every player was contacted and worked with.

I suspect there was far more contact with difference-makers than others.

[LeatherPants]

He should have spent the 2nd half of last season at AAA. It was sickening to watch him at the plate apparently clueless, unwilling or unable to change

I hope he gets it together, I wouldn't be surprised if he spends some time in AAA except Reds management is more about the hype and would like to avoid a AAA stint

This is certainly an opinion.

[westofyou]

well-written article with detail on improving seldom read in a baseball story. I left wondering how many other Reds had such visits by coaches over the last months. Was he the only one or were others, who also could improve disected with a detail in project development and then worked with. The other take-away was that he was a willing player who owned the improvements.

Again, I can only wonder how many players, will or will not accept such 'recommendations."

Every player leaves for the off season with a plan, workout, check-ins, they all are asked to be available. If they are rehabbing they might be asked to come to a Reds facility, they might get a visit. In AZ and FLA there are players that train together, teammates and foes, sometimes guys reach out to coaches, former players for advice. Today I just read that Larkin worked with Bo Bichette on his SS play.

Back in the day guys might take second jobs, hunt, play handball and golf all offseason.

These days the money is too big to eschew "recommendations"