2025 Fantasy Baseball: Elly De La Cruz Profile, Preview, Predictions
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Elly De La Cruz is currently the second shortstop being drafted in the high-stakes fantasy baseball market following Bobby Witt Jr. De La Cruz is entering his third MLB season and is poised to be a cornerstone of winning fantasy baseball rosters. De La Cruz is ready to run wild! Let's take a deeper dive.
SS Elly De La Cruz (ADP – 4.2)
As expected, De La Cruz whiffed like a champ in his sophomore campaign. He led the National League in strikeouts (218 – 31.3%) but avoided a disaster batting average (.259) by posting an elite contact batting average (.400) that was below his minor league resume (.438). His walk rate (9.9) beat his minor league career (8.2%). De La Cruz led the majors in stolen bases (67) and caught stealing (16).
Elly De La Cruz is the Cincinnati Reds' first-ever MLB The Show cover athlete! ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/HIOYJH1shj
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) January 28, 2025
His best stats last season came in April (.279/27/8/19/18 over 104 at-bats), helping fantasy teams jump out of the starting box. He gave back his gains in May (.208 with 10 runs, one home run, and five RBIs over 101 at-bats) other than stolen bases (14). Over the following three months, De La Cruz was an edge in all five categories (.276/53/13/37/29 over 315 at-bats). His bat was weaker against lefties (.224 with 22 runs, six home runs, 20 RBIs, and 23 stolen bases).
De La Cruz ranked 28th in exit velocity (91.9 mph) and 57th in hard-hit rate (45.7). Even with strength in his HR/FB rate (19.1), his launch angle (9.7 – 174th) is trailing in his development. He hit fewer groundballs (46.3% - 53.9%) last season, with a bump to 33% for his fly-ball rate.
Fantasy Outlook: De La Cruz finished fifth in FPGscore (9.50) for hitters last year. With an improved swing path and a lower strikeout rate, his ceiling in power and batting average would be much higher. He wants to run, and his overall skill set is excellent. I’ll set his bar at .270 with 100+ runs, 30+ home runs, 85+ RBIs, and a floor of 50 stolen bases. His desire to steal could lead to over 80 bags in 2025.
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