Reds star Elly De La Cruz is already one of the most dynamic players in the game, leading Cincinnati in home runs, stolen bases and runs batted in while suiting up for essentially every game. But Reds manager Terry Francona says there’s one more area for the 2025 All-Star to sharpen: knowing exactly where the ball is when he takes off on a steal.
Francona recognizes De La Cruz’s extraordinary ability to read the ball as it’s hit, helping him excel on the basepaths. The remaining improvement? On the bases, where the ball’s location can determine how quickly a runner advances. “The last piece for him is when he steals he doesn’t pick up the ball,” Francona explained. “Some guys have trouble doing that. Next spring that will be a focus for us.”
De La Cruz has been one of the fastest players in Major League Baseball since his debut in 2023, and he led the majors with 67 steals last season. While he already excels at seeing the ball on contact, Francona noted that ankle-deep awareness on the bases can push him from elite to elite, turning routine hits into multiple-bag opportunities.
Two recent demonstrations illustrated the potential of this approach. In a game against the Angels in Anaheim, De La Cruz scored from first base on two hits that barely reached the outfield grass, including one he read immediately after breaking for second on the pitch. Francona called those plays impressive not just for speed or athleticism, but for situational awareness—he could “see how devastating he can be” when he knows where the ball is.
The Reds aren’t planning to overhaul practices in August, but Francona said every player can benefit from a spring emphasis on tracking the ball. “We can’t start practicing stealing bases in August,” he said. “But I want our entire team to focus on it next spring. If the majority of our guys take that second step and glance in, they’ll be much more intelligent base runners, because they’ll know where the ball is.”
Even with hamstring and quad tightness sometimes limiting his movements, De La Cruz has continued to be a threat on the bases in 2025, swiping 31 bags in 37 attempts while remaining in the lineup every day. Francona’s message is clear: the next leap in De La Cruz’s game will come from improved ball-tracking on the basepaths, turning potential chaos into calculated aggression and, more importantly, additional traction for a Reds offense already built around speed and power.
Bottom line: De La Cruz remains a premier talent, and with a concerted focus on ball-tracking next spring, Cincinnati believes he can take his baserunning to an even higher level, unlocking more scoring chances and reinforcing the team’s blueprint for sustained offensive power. A hopeful note is that the approach could lift not just him but the entire lineup, making the Reds a tougher matchup on the basepaths.