Elly De La Cruz is acing the 2026 MLB season

Elly De La Cruz is having an outstanding 2026 season for the last-place Cincinnati Reds, hitting .283 with 26 home runs, 25 stolen bases, and a .350 average against left-handed pitchers. He has recorded a 5.0-5.6 WAR ranking fourth among position players despite missing time with a hamstring injury, and recently threw a 102 mph relay throw, the fastest by an infielder in the statcast era. De La Cruz also hit home runs in five consecutive games, setting a record for most homers in a season by a switch-hitter. A fan poll indicated strong approval of his performance, with 56% rating him as an A-grade player at age 24.

Summary written by MLB Feed Network based on the original reporting. How we write summaries