Fastball

Elly De La Cruz of Cincinnati Reds Joined Extremely Rare History in Breakout 2024

The Cincinnati Reds missed the playoffs again, but De La Cruz established himself as one of the most exciting players in all of baseball.

Brady Farkas

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) during the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in 2024.
Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) during the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in 2024. / Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
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The Cincinnati Reds missed the playoffs in 2024, but they did have several exciting things happen to their organization. Hunter Greene continued to show ace-like qualities on the mound, Terry Francona was just hired as manager and shortstop Elly De La Cruz showed why he's one of the most exciting players in all of baseball.

De La Cruz is coming off a great season in 2024. He led baseball in steals with 67, and for a while, he was on pace to steal 100 bases. In addition to his baserunning prowess, he also hit 25 homers and hit .259, showing his ability to make more consistent contact. He made his first All-Star Game and looks like he'll pair with Matt McLain to make a very exciting middle-infield tandem for years to come.

As part of his base stealing skillset, De La Cruz also joined a rare group in baseball history.

Per @CodifyBaseball:

Elly De La Cruz in 2024 became only the 11th big leaguer in history to steal third base 20 or more times in one season.

De La Cruz just unlocks a whole other gear for the Reds offensively, and it's something that Francona will undoubtedly continue to utilize in 2025.

Cincinnati hasn't made the playoffs since the COVID 2020 season and hasn't won the World Series since 1990. Francona won the World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and 2007. In addition to his success with the Red Sox, he's also managed the Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland Guardians. He took Cleveland to the World Series in 2016.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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