Newest Reds marvel at Elly De La Cruz on the field, in the clubhouse

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CINCINNATI — When Brady Singer was traded to the Cincinnati Reds, Jonathan India told him he was lucky to get to watch Elly De La Cruz every night.

College teammates at the University of Florida, Singer and India were traded for each other in November. They’d talked before and after the trade, each telling the other about their new teams and teammates. Few people had better seats to the De La Cruz experience than India, who spent last season as De La Cruz’s double-play partner. Singer had already gotten used to having a young superstar behind him at shortstop in Bobby Witt Jr., and now he has De La Cruz.

“I got spoiled with Bobby, and it happens every night — ‘That’s Bob.’ Now I get to say, ‘Yeah, it’s Elly. That’s what he does,’” Singer said Tuesday afternoon. “I’ve got the best seat in the house every night to watch him, whether it’s in the dugout or on the mound, you get to just sit back and see the things he does. It’s really special.”

Singer is one of several veteran players who are in their first season in the Reds organization. One of the first things those players thought about when it became apparent they were headed to Cincinnati was playing with De La Cruz.

De La Cruz, who debuted two years ago last week, has become one of the game’s best-known players. He had a four-game home run streak snapped in Tuesday’s 6-5 win over the Minnesota Twins and has gone 13 for 36 in the nine games he’s started since returning from his home in the Dominican Republic following the death of his sister.

FOUR STRAIGHT GAMES WITH AN ELLY HOMER ⚡️@ellylacocoa18 ⭐️ https://t.co/HKf2mrrBht pic.twitter.com/Pnz6kPf4b7

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 15, 2025

In his two years in the big leagues, De La Cruz has established himself as one of the must-watch players in baseball, an elite combination of power and speed.

“The whole five-tool thing sticks out — you can’t get more than five tools,” veteran left-hander Wade Miley said. “He’s a clear-cut five-tool player.”

The five tools in baseball scouting are hitting for average, hitting for power, speed, defense and throwing. But with De La Cruz, it goes beyond just those five tools, including the “it factor.” Each scouting report for teams playing the Reds started with De La Cruz, said veteran left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers, who was acquired via trade from the San Francisco Giants this spring.

“You knew where he was,” Rogers said.

Every player and most fans in baseball know about De La Cruz’s exploits on the field. For those who joined the Reds this year, there was a curiosity about the man behind the Statcast numbers.

“Obviously being in the same division and seeing what he does on the field, really nothing on the field was different than what I’d seen,” said infielder/outfielder Connor Joe, who spent the last two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. “Being in the clubhouse, you get to know someone and build a relationship. What impressed me was how good of a teammate he is and how much he helps others.”

Joe said he’s enjoyed talking to De La Cruz on the bench. A right-handed hitter, Joe gets most of his playing time against left-handed pitchers. The switch hitting De La Cruz is turned around to hit right-handed by most managers when there’s a chance. Joe said De La Cruz is always there to talk to him about what he’s seen from a lefty on the mound and his approach against them.

Not only does De La Cruz have obvious physical gifts, he also stands 6-foot-5, has long dreadlocks and favors bright colors with his gloves, cleats, protective gear and the sliding mitts he’s popularized from the big leagues to T-ball. De La Cruz, whose name has a lyrical quality to match his game, also plays the game with a flair and obvious joy, celebrating each home run by slapping hands with third base coach J.R. House and continuing the motion into a dab, covering his eyes with the crook of his right elbow while sticking his left arm straight out as he makes the final trek toward home plate.

It’s something that players see from the other dugout, and the TV cameras can’t help but show on repeat.

“He plays with a lot of energy and flash, and his personality is just the opposite,” said infielder/outfielder Gavin Lux, who spent his first five seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, winning two World Series titles. “He’s humble, down to earth, he’s quiet. He’s really fun to be around every day.”

Lux has played alongside Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts with the Dodgers and sees similarities between the way De La Cruz carries himself and the other superstars.

“He’s up there with just the intangible traits he has as a baseball player,” Lux said. “But the scary part is that he’s only 23 and he keeps getting better and taking steps every week to reach his ceiling. I don’t know if he even has one.”

Like Lux, catcher Jose Trevino has been a teammate of an MVP, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees. Trevino sees similarities in the way Judge and De La Cruz carry themselves.

“It’s the mental game of not only believing in yourself, but knowing and truly knowing — you’re not just telling yourself — you’re the best on the field. You believe you are. He believes that every time he’s out there,” Trevino said.

Behind the scenes, the new Reds said they’ve been impressed to see the work De La Cruz puts in day to day.

“In all honesty, he could just be him, who he is today, and be a perfectly good player, but just his willingness to want to be better than he is today is really cool,” said reliever Scott Barlow.

Miley spent the last two years with the Milwaukee Brewers. He was in the home dugout at American Family Field in 2023 when De La Cruz stole third and home on a single pitch.

“Facing him a couple of years ago, not to say he was immature, but he was swinging and getting after it,” said Miley, who has allowed a hit and struck out De La Cruz in four plate appearances.

“Now it’s just two years later, and his strikeouts have come down, his walks have gone up. That’s drastic jumps. You don’t normally see that from kids this young. He’s on the right track for sure.”

It’s his daily routine that has impressed outfielder Austin Hays, who was with playoff teams the last two years with the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies.

“A lot of the routines he has, it’s things you see from guys who are older players that have had a lot more experience,” Hays said. “He’s 23 years old and he’s already doing a lot of the right things. It takes a lot of players five, six, seven years to develop those routines and get into that kind of preparation and ability to take care of themselves the right way. That’s the thing that’s impressed me the most.”

But it’s what he can do on the field that makes him who he is. In Saturday’s victory against the Detroit Tigers, De La Cruz hit his 15th home run of the season and his third in as many games, and also had a relay throw that measured 98.3 mph to nab Javier Báez at the plate.

“We’ve got to get him on the mound — I’d love to see that,” said infielder/outfielder Garrett Hampson.

Regardless, De La Cruz’s new teammates are just as impressed with him as India was.

“It’s absurd how good he is,” Miley said.

(Photo: Jason Mowry / Getty Images)

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