Elly De La Cruz, Young Cincinnati Reds Are Surprise Contenders In National League

There were absolutely no expectations for the Cincinnati Reds when the season began beyond the walls of their clubhouse.

The Reds had a horrible 2022 season, going 62-100 and finishing tied for last place in the National League Central with the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was the franchise’s first season with triple-digit losses since 1982.

When spring training began, the Reds were almost universally picked to finish fifth in the five-team division by analysts and pundits. It seemed like this would be a rebuilding year for the Reds as they slowly tried to work their way into eventually being a contender.

However, manager David Bell wasn’t buying into the talk of doom and gloom for his Reds. And he certainly didn’t think 2023 was going to be a throwaway season in Cincinnati.

“I know on the outside maybe it wasn’t thought of much, but we talked about from day one how our goal was to get to the postseason,” Bell said. “We felt there was no reason not to win now instead of waiting for later. We felt we had the talent to win now.”

The idea doesn’t seem nearly as aspirational in August as it did in April. The Reds are in contention with a dynamic young roster despite hitting a rough patch where they have lost nine of their last 12 games.

The Reds are tied for second place with the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central, 3 ½ games behind the Milwaukee Brewers, and just ½ game back of the Miami Marlins for the third NL wild card.

“It’s just been a lot of fun,” Reds utility infielder Kevin Newman said. “It’s fun to see all the young guys have so much energy and to be playing so well. You can see their confidence continuing to grow.”

The Reds certainly have a lot of young guys, the most notable being 21-year-old shortstop Elly De La Cruz. The 6-foot-5 native of the Dominican Republic possesses so much talent that Reds veteran designed hitter Joey Votto has compared him to a young Mickey Mantle.

De La Cruz is hitting .264/.311/.464 with 10 home runs and 18 stolen bases in 58 games since making his debut June 6. Though Cruz has cooled off after a hot start with a .195 batting average and 50 strikeouts in his last 28 games, he still can greatly impact any game.

De La Cruz was dropped from the leadoff spot to No. 3 in batting order on Friday night. He then hit a two-run triple in the first inning to set the tone in the Reds’ 9-2 rout of the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

While it would be easy for a player so young to lose confidence, De La Cruz has kept his swagger.

“I think pressing is normal for anyone who’s not hitting, regardless of your age,” Bell said. “Pressing is part of what you go through as a player but he’s great. He’s handling everything great. Nothing has changed there.”

De La Cruz is part of an all-rookie infield with first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand, second baseman Matt McLain and third baseman Spencer Steer. The starting outfield all began the season with less than one full year of major-league service time – left fielder Will Benson, center fielder TJ Friedl and right fielder Stuart Fairchild.

The Reds also have two rookie left-handers in their rotation with Andrew Abbott and Brandon Williamson. All-Star closer Alexis Diaz is in just his second season.

Yet the Reds pay no mind to the idea that teams with youth and experience don’t usually find themselves contending in August.

“A lot of us played together in the minor leagues the last couple of seasons,” Abbott said. “We’re just playing the same game we did coming up through the farm system.”

Perhaps that explains why the Reds didn’t panic when they got off to a 7-15 start that was punctuated by a four-game sweep by the Pirates in Pittsburgh in late April.

“We couldn’t get runners on base and when we did get runners on base then we couldn’t drive them in,” Friedl said. “It just seemed like everybody had the weight of the world on their shoulders. We talked amongst ourselves and decided to just relax and go out and play baseball like we know we can. That was definitely a turning point. We’ve played good baseball ever since, for almost four months now.”