Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz is among the game’s fastest runners and hardest batters. He has benefited from that deadly combo all season long.
De La Cruz stole the most bases in baseball history on Wednesday, his 60th of the season. With 38, Shohei Ohtani comes in second.
He was already the seventh player in MLB history to enter the 20/60 club with 21 home runs as of Wednesday. Prior to now, only Ronald Acuña Jr., Rickey Henderson, Eric Davis, and Joe Morgan had accomplished it.
De La Cruz made a quick impression on the scene during the previous season. He had eight stolen bases, a 1.063 OPS, and a.359 batting average in his first 16 big league games. However, in his last 82 games, he only hit.210 with an OPS of.640.
Of course, at the beginning of the season, everyone was watching him to find out which De La Cruz was the real deal. Even if his aggregate stats indicate that he falls in the middle, his potential is evident.
De La Cruz had an.828 OPS and was hitting.261 as of Wednesday. His biggest weakness is that he leads the league in strikeouts (167). However, you can compensate for it when he can convert singles into doubles on the base paths.
