Player News

• Reds' Elly De La Cruz: Homers twice in spring debut

  21D ago • By RotoWire

  De La Cruz went 2-for-2 with two solo home runs in Saturday's split-squad game against the Guardians. Not only did he homer twice, De La Cruz homered from both sides of the plate in his first Cactus League game of 2025. The 23-year-old is coming off an electric sophomore season in which he hit 25 homers with a league-leading 67 steals, and he tweaked his batting stance this winter to help address lingering swing-and-miss concerns. While he brings more batting-average volatility than most in the first-round draftees, the counting-stat upside is undeniable.

  SEE FULL ARTICLE

• Reds' Elly De La Cruz: Tweaks batting stance

  26D ago • By RotoWire

  De La Cruz has tweaked his batting stance in hopes that it will help him cut down on strikeouts, Charlie Goldsmith of Charlie's Chalkboard reports. De La Cruz has opened up his stance a bit and is standing taller at the plate, with the goal of "being more in control with his forward movement," per Reds hitting coach Chris Valaika. The switch-hitting De La Cruz led the majors with 218 strikeouts in 2024, though he sported a respectable .259 average thanks to his quality of contact, speed and .359 BABIP. He could regress a bit in the average department in 2025 if he doesn't cut down on the swings and misses, but De La Cruz can still be elite in fantasy even if his average slips because he contributes so much elsewhere.

  SEE FULL ARTICLE

• Reds' Elly De La Cruz: Baserunning blunder in loss

  09/28/2024 • By RotoWire

  De La Cruz went 1-for-4 with a double in Friday's 1-0 loss to the Cubs. De La Cruz lofted a flyball to left center that fell in between two Chicago outfielders that he tried to stretch it to a triple, but he was thrown out by Pete Crow-Armstrong. Reds interim manager Freddie Benavides told Mark Sheldon of MLB.com that it was mistake for De La Cruz to not stop at second base. "The ball was in front of him," Benavides said. "He's got to realize that [Crow-Armstrong] has got a great arm. It's something me and him talked about, we addressed. It's a mistake and he's going to learn from it." While it may have been a tactical error on the part of De La Cruz, it does not take away from his fantasy value. The 22-year-old infielder has an .815 OPS with 25 home runs, 74 RBI, a league-leading 65 steals and 104 runs scored over 158 games.

  SEE FULL ARTICLE

• Reds' Elly De La Cruz: Homers, drives in four

  09/21/2024 • By RotoWire

  De La Cruz went 3-for-5 with a home run, four RBI and an additional run scored in Saturday's 7-1 win over the Pirates. De La Cruz reached yet another milestone Saturday, becoming the youngest player in MLB history with 25 homers and 60 stolen bases in a season. He also joins Ronald Acuna and Joe Morgan as the only players with 35 doubles, 25 homers and 60 stolen bases in a season. De La Cruz tied his season high in RBI with four, with both instances coming over his last eight games.

  SEE FULL ARTICLE

• Reds' Elly De La Cruz: Grand slam in win

  09/14/2024 • By RotoWire

  De La Cruz went 1-for-4 with a grand slam home run in Friday's 8-4 win over Minnesota. De La Cruz broke open a close game in the seventh inning with the slam, his first as a major leaguer, and his 24th home run of the season. The dynamic De La Cruz has managed to make an impact this month despite batting .205 over 12 games. During that stretch, he has seven walks, five extra-base hits, eight RBI, three stolen bases and seven runs scored.

  SEE FULL ARTICLE