'Elly has a plan' that's fueling his big step forward in 2024

This year, Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz arrives at the ballpark earlier in the day before every game. There’s more he wants to get done before he takes the field.

De La Cruz’s pregame routine looks completely different than it did last year. Everything from his strength training to his approach in batting practice to the types of ground balls he fields before the game has ratcheted up.

During the first month of the season, all of that work has translated into a big leap forward by one of the most talented young players in baseball.

“I’ve learned a lot of things from last year,” De La Cruz said. “The one thing that I realized was that you have to have that routine to have that consistency going out there. That’s the biggest thing.”

De La Cruz, who recently moved up to the No. 2 spot in the Reds’ lineup, just wrapped up a seven-game homestand that showed exactly what his potential looks like. Every big play highlighted an improvement that De La Cruz has made.

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It starts with the fact that he has started at shortstop in each of the first 25 games of the season. De La Cruz said that he has done “a lot of preparation in the gym” to build up more strength and endurance. “It helps out to avoid injuries,” De La Cruz said. “You’re better off when you’re preparing yourself.”

Last September, Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said that De La Cruz was struggling because he was “gassed”. This year, De La Cruz has avoided the early season wall that usually hits every player.

De La Cruz using speed even more

He’s impacting games with his speed even more than he did last year, and De La Cruz entered Friday leading the league with 15 stolen bases. Over the seven-games homestand, De La Cruz stole second and third base back-to-back on two different occasions. In one of those sequences, he forced a throwing error when he stole third base and then jogged home to score a run.

“He’s putting in a lot of work,” Reds third baseman Jeimer Candelario said. “Elly is a guy who likes to play every day and works a lot on his body. He’s going to continue getting better. Elly has a plan right now. He’s using that plan. When that happens, you go from there.”

At the plate, De La Cruz is in as good of a rhythm as he ever has been. During the Reds’ most recent homestand, as they took five out of seven games against the Los Angeles Angels and the Philadelphia Phillies, he hit .400 with a .571 on-base percentage, a .750 slugging percentage and a 1.321 OPS. On the season, he ranked fourth in MLB in homers, 15th in RBI, 17th in walks and fourth in OPS.

By just about every measure, De La Cruz has been playing at an All-Star level.

De La Cruz’s consistency at the plate started with a swing change that he made last offseason. He switched to using a lower leg kick, giving himself “better breaks” when he needs to adjust his swing.

In 2023, De La Cruz drew 35 walks in 98 games. In 2024, he had already drawn 15 walks in 25 games. He’s also striking out less often in 2024 than he did last year, and his strikeout rate has plunged in a positive direction over the last two weeks.

“He really knows his swing and is making adjustments pitch-to-pitch,” Reds hitting coach Joel McKeithan said. “He’s even doing that in his pregame work. He knows what he needs to get to every day to be in a good spot when he gets into the game. From there, he has felt that he can trust himself.”

Against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, De La Cruz drew four walks. Among all of the accomplishments that De La Cruz has had over the last week, that one generated the most buzz among his teammates in the clubhouse.

Because of how well he’s hitting, pitchers are pitching around De La Cruz. He’s staying patient and balancing his aggressive swing with a smart approach at the plate. Against Phillies ace Zack Wheeler on Thursday, De La Cruz fell behind 0-2 in the count and battled back to draw a walk on the eighth pitch of the plate appearance.

“Recently, with the way people have been pitching him, Elly is taking what they’re giving him,” Reds left fielder Spencer Steer said. “He’s not over aggressive. That’s a sign of him honing his approach and really maturing as a hitter. He’ll be really dangerous as he keeps that up.”

De La Cruz took BP routine from Soto

De La Cruz also learned from New York Yankees star outfielder Juan Soto, who’s one of the best opposite field hitters in baseball. De La Cruz worked out with Soto during the offseason, and De La Cruz has adopted Soto’s batting practice routine.

De La Cruz starts by hitting low line drives to left field. He picks targets going from pole-to-pole, which helps him get a good feel for hitting the ball to every part of the field.

During the Reds’ recent seven-game homestand, De La Cruz hit two opposite field homers. One of them was a moon shot to left field. De La Cruz stared the ball down, pounded his chest and slammed his bat to celebrate the meaningful swing.

“He’s an amazing learner,” McKeithan said. “He’s really starting to learn himself and what he needs to do to play every day. It’s cool to watch the learning process he has gone through. That’s what makes him special. His ability to learn, adjust and grow.”

De La Cruz has made similar adjustments on defense. This year, he’s spending more time doing drills where he’s about 20 feet away from a ground ball machine. He tracks one ball after another into his mitt to nail down his technique for approaching the ball.

At the end of spring training, the Reds traded for infielder Santiago Espinal. De La Cruz noticed that Espinal spent a lot of time standing at second base and tracking ground balls and line drives during batting practice. They had a conversation about it, and then De La Cruz started doing the same thing.

Very early in the season, De La Cruz wasn’t a consistent defender. Over the last few weeks, his defense has leveled up. He’s making seamless flips on double plays and effortlessly fielding ground balls deep in the hole.

Last year, De La Cruz’s biggest weakness defensively was on ground balls between him and the third baseman. Now, he’s regularly making those backhand plays. De La Cruz said he’s “a bit more concentrated” with his defense this year, and his approach is resulting in game-changing plays.

“He’s just maturing,” Steer said. “He’s learning himself as a player. We always forget how young he is and how he’s still getting better. It’s crazy because he’s already an incredible baseball player.”

De La Cruz’s most impressive plays have been on fly balls into shallow left field. Against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, De La Cruz covered 112 feet of ground and made a sliding catch far down the left field line.

On that catch, Reds manager David Bell said that no one would have thought twice had De La Cruz just stayed at shortstop and not even attempted to make the play. But De La Cruz has the creativity to make plays that most shortstops wouldn’t even think about trying.

“With Elly, it’s just different,” Reds catcher Luke Maile said. “He does so many things that maybe no one in the history of this game has been able to do before. He’ll always have that talent. I see him being a much more consistent player.”

De La Cruz is setting records along the way

During the homestand, De La Cruz also made a lot of history. He became the second-fastest Reds player since 1900 to reach 50 career stolen bases. He became the fifth Reds hitter since 1900 to homer and steal three bases in a game since 1900, and he became the second big league player since 1900 with at least five homers and 10 stolen bases through a team’s first 20 games of a season.

De La Cruz is stacking up one big moment after another in a potential breakout season that’s full of expectations.

“I’m the same person, really,” De La Cruz said. “There will be ups and downs throughout the season, but I feel like I’m that same exact person.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The work that's fueling Elly De La Cruz's big step forward in 2024