Cincinnati Reds star shortstop Elly De La Cruz is on pace for a predicted 40-plus home run and 90-plus stolen base season by the end of 2024, becoming the first player in MLB history to create and reach the 40-90 club.
On June 6th, 2023, De La Cruz was called up from Triple-A to make his debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park. Following being called up, De La Cruz would go off, becoming extremely dominant in both hitting, fielding, and baserunning. In only his 15th game of his major league career, on June 24th, De La Cruz hit for the cycle (Hit a home run, triple, double, and single in a single game), becoming the first Cincinnati Red player to do so since 1989. In only 2 weeks in his big league debut, De La Cruz would accomplish one of the hardest feats in all of baseball.
It’s August 27th, 2023, the Reds are playing the Arizona Diamondbacks. Top of the 5th inning, Arizona Leading 1 to 0, and 2 outs, Corbin Carrol is up to bat. Carrol smacked a 0-2 pitch deep to center field that reached the back wall. Carrol would sprint around the bases and attempt to reach home for an inside-the-park home run. Cincinnati center field threw the ball to De La Cruz who, from the shallow outfield, threw the ball 99.7 mph to the catcher at home plate, tagging Carrol out. This became the fastest infield-assisted throw in MLB history. Elly would continue to make amazing plays and throws in the field throughout the 2023 season. In 2023, De La Cruz averaged a throwing speed of 96 MPH. His average is higher than some pitcher’s max speed.
But what De La Cruz is most known for, is his speed. Elly De La Cruz held the fastest sprint time of the 2023 season topping out at 30.5 feet per second. That’s almost as fast as Usain Bolt, the fastest human ever. Usian had a max sprint speed of 33.8 feet per second, De La Cruz was so close. And there are so many instances in the 2023 season where De La Cruz used his speed. In a September 5th game against the Seattle Mariners, De La Cruz would use his speed to make the game-ending run. It’s the bottom of the 9th, 9-9, and De La Cruz is up to bat. He has 3 balls and no strikes. De La Cruz would swing at a low and outside ball, hitting a ground ball to Mariners Shortstop J.P Crawford. De La Cruz would beat out the throw to first making him the winning run. On the very next pitch, De La Cruz would steal second base putting him in scoring position. Cincinnati First base Christian Encarnacion would single on a 0-2 count, and De La Cruz would fly home, beating the throw to home by a full 2 seconds, winning Cincinnati the game.
De La Cruz finished the 2023 season with a .235 AVG (Batting Average),.300 OBP (On Base Percentage), 35 Stolen bases, and a .410 SLG (Slugging Percentage). These are some pretty impressive stats for a rookie season.
But De La Cruz continues to impress in 2024. In the 47 games De La Cruz has played in 2024, he has 35 Stolen bases, a .256 AVG, a .352 OBP, and a .476 SLG. De La Cruz is already doing better than his rookie season and was not seven halfway into the 2024 MLB Season. Because of his performance, the MLB has evaluated De La Cruz and they predict Elly De La Cruz will finish the 2024 season with 40 home runs and 90 stolen bases. This will be a new record. A 40-90 season has never been accomplished. The MLB record is a 40-70 season, held by Atlanta Braves Right Fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. In 2023. On September 27th, 2023, in a game against the Chicago Cubs, in the bottom of the 10th and a tied game 5-5, Acuna took off from second sliding head first, and was called safe, becoming his 70th steal of the season, creating the 40-70 club.
De La Cruz’s pace is only a prediction but like baseball fan Carter says “I still think he’s going to do it, I think he may even exceed the prediction, he’s such a good player, and he’s so fun to watch.” De La Cruz’s 2023 and 2024 performances solidify MLB’s predictions for Elly De La Cruz to have a historic MLB season.