Any Elly De La Cruz love?

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

And not to swing at the ball at all if it's not in the strike zone.

I've watched every single inning the Reds have played. Elly's problem is definitely not swinging at balls. If anything, it's laying off close pitches as umps consistently ring him up looking on pitches that were balls, or on the edges. He was 236th in chase rate at 26.9% out of 584 hitters. That puts him firmly in the top half of the league. Frankly, his biggest problem is missing pitches he should hit. He swings and misses on center cut fastballs early in the count far too often. If he starts obliterating those pitches, he won't have to deal with the borderline pitches later in the count.

And as for his defense, he had 15 outs above average, which was 4th best for a shortstop in all of major leagues. It was pointed out above, that his fielding percentage is lower because of a lot of errors on routine plays, but his ability to make plays that no one else can more than makes up for the errors. His OOA already puts him in gold glove conversation. If he cuts down on errors, his defense could be legendary.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

Frankly, his biggest problem is missing pitches he should hit. He swings and misses on center cut fastballs early in the count far too often. If he starts obliterating those pitches, he won't have to deal with the borderline pitches later in the count.

The problem then may therefore be precisely that he's trying to obliterate those pitches instead of hitting the ball where it's pitched.

New Reds' Manager Terry Francona should sit down with Cruz and ask him whether he wants to be mentioned in the same breath as Ricky Henderson and Lou Brock in twenty years or whether he wants to be forgotten as just another Willie Mays or Hank Aaron wannabee who flamed out early trying to be something he wasn't. Cruz should be hitting low line drives and using his speed to stretch his hits into extra base hits. Maybe Francona should take a cue from the manager of the Major League movie and fine Cruz every time he hits a high fly ball.

What's Ricky Henderson doing? Maybe the Reds should hire Henderson as a hitting coach. Henderson knew that a fellow had to get on base first before he could steal the next one. That's something Cruz needs to learn.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

The problem then may therefore be precisely that he's trying to obliterate those pitches instead of hitting the ball where it's pitched.

Um, obliterating a center cut fastball IS hitting a center cut fastball where it is pitched. If you aren't trying to obliterate that pitch, you probably shouldn't be playing.

And Elly has some of the top exit velocities in the game. He absolutely has the skill set to be a home run hitter, and he shouldn't abandon that off the charts power tool he possesses trying to stretch singles into doubles. There are few human beings in the history of baseball with the skill set Elly possesses. Not even the aforementioned Mays/Aaron. And no one told Mays to stop hitting homeruns. If his hit tool is good enough to hit low line drives consistently, then it's good enough to hit homeruns consistently, given his power. The problem isn't trying to hit for power, it's the bat to ball skill in the hit tool that needs a little work. Once it's there, watch out. But no manager in his right mind will be trying to restrict that prodigous power. Elly's ceiling is so far above Lou Brock, it isn't even funny. And Rickey wasn't Rickey without the power. It's his power/speed combo that made him legendary. And Elly has Rickey speed, but Mantle power. His ceiling is even above Rickey if he continues to develop. He's 22 after all and put up power/speed numbers even Rickey never achieved. It would be foolish to stifle that now. Let him grow into what he can be.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

Um, obliterating a center cut fastball IS hitting a center cut fastball where it is pitched. If you aren't trying to obliterate that pitch, you probably shouldn't be playing.

If his hit tool is good enough to hit low line drives consistently, then it's good enough to hit homeruns consistently, given his power.

Wade Boggs wouldn't agree. I still remember him saying that any of his home runs were mistakes on his part because it meant that he got too far under the ball. I believe Rod Carew would have disagreed as well. And remember Ty Cobb's reply when asked about the home runs Babe Ruth was hitting? "I'd hit more home runs too if they were worth hitting."

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

Wade Boggs wouldn't agree. I still remember him saying that any of his home runs were mistakes on his part because it meant that he got too far under the ball. I believe Rod Carew would have disagreed as well. And remember Ty Cobb's reply when asked about the home runs Babe Ruth was hitting? "I'd hit more home runs too if they were worth hitting."

It makes no sense to compare Elly, who has off the charts power, to Wade Boggs and Rod Carew. And Ty Cobb's misunderstanding of analytics shouldn't bear that much weight in this discussion, should it? Telling Elly to adjust his approach to not hit for power isn't like telling Tony Gwynn to not hit for power, it's like telling Mickey Mantle to not hit for power. See the difference?

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

Telling Elly to adjust his approach to not hit for power isn't like telling Tony Gwynn to not hit for power, it's like telling Mickey Mantle to not hit for power.

You seem to equate power hitting with only strength/bat speed. Keep in mind though that there are two components to being a power hitter - power and the hitting! Cruz in 2024 had a batting average of just .259, only 69 walks to 218 strikeouts and you yourself admitted that he whiffs at far too many pitches that MLB players are expected to drive. It seems pretty obvious therefore that in swinging for the fences he ends up overswinging.

The obvious prescription would therefore be for him to concentrate on making contact, i.e. hitting the ball where it's pitched. If he's got the strength/bat speed, he'll get the multi base hits. Plus a lot more opportunities to steal.

Originally Posted by todeen

Cruz needs to find a niche and live it.

The Reds need to tell Cruz what they want him to be.

EDLC has leadoff hitter characteristics, amazing speed that can create runs -- without other hittersmaking contact. That is a very rare trait, something Rickey possessed.

As a leadoff hitter profile, he scored more than 100 runs.

Lots of hitters these days have Cruz's power. Few though have his speed. I think the Reds should therefore use him to hit leadoff and create havoc on the basepaths.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

You seem to equate power hitting with only strength/bat speed. Keep in mind though that there are two components to being a power hitter - power and the hitting! Cruz in 2024 had a batting average of just .259, only 69 walks to 218 strikeouts and you yourself admitted that he whiffs at far too many pitches that MLB players are expected to drive. It seems pretty obvious therefore that in swinging for the fences he ends up overswinging.



The obvious prescription would therefore be for him to concentrate on making contact, i.e. hitting the ball where it's pitched. If he's got the strength/bat speed, he'll get the multi base hits. Plus a lot more opportunities to steal.







Lots of hitters these days have Cruz's power. Few though have his speed. I think the Reds should therefore use him to hit leadoff and create havoc on the basepaths.

He's far too young to think his weaknesses need to result in entirely changing his approach. Especially given he will be a top 5 MVP candidate at 22 years old. He put up 5.4 fWAR. He's obviously doing something right, and you don't want to go overhauling the formula at his age. Let him develop. If after a few years he hasn't adjusted, maybe try to fix something. But for now, you have a generational talent on your hands. You try to get the absolute best out of that when they're young. Imagine if Ohtani had signed with a team that wouldn't let him hit and pitch. We would never have witnessed greatness on the level we have. Thankfully, he knew his potential and didn't give up on those skills. Elly has power potential that should not be abandoned yet. We might just miss out on history.