Elly De La Cruz is one of the most intimidating hitters in baseball—at least against right-handed pitching. When facing righties, the Reds phenom is a force at the plate, launching towering shots with ease. But left-handers? They’ve been his Achilles’ heel.
As a switch-hitter, De La Cruz struggles significantly from the right side, posting a weak .209/.280/.320 slash line against southpaws. If he exclusively batted right-handed, he’d barely warrant a spot on a big-league roster. However, his dominance as a left-handed hitter and elite speed more than compensate for this flaw.
Reds manager Terry Francona, however, isn’t one to ignore weaknesses.
If Reds’ superstar Elly De La Cruz slightly improves against lefties, he could enter a new realm of greatness
Instead of ignoring the issue, Reds manager Terry Francona challenged Elly De La Cruz to elevate his game—to become the best player on the best team in baseball. That means delivering quality at-bats in every situation, regardless of the pitcher on the mound.
Even a modest improvement—say, raising his average against lefties to .225—could make a difference. Over 150 at-bats, that’s just five extra hits, but those could translate into five more chances for him to wreak havoc on the basepaths and create scoring opportunities.
Elly De La Cruz hit a home run left-handed today.
Elly De La Cruz hit a home run right-handed today.pic.twitter.com/EZfY92O3Cd— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) February 23, 2025
But De La Cruz isn’t settling for small gains. He has kicked off spring training with authority, making an early statement. In his debut, he homered from both sides of the plate, including an opposite-field blast off lefty Logan Allen. He followed that up with a ground-rule double against southpaw Tyler Anderson, setting the tone for the Reds’ offense on the 26th.
This version of De La Cruz is different. Last season, he managed just three extra-base hits to the right side of the field, one of which was an inside-the-park homer aided by a defensive miscue. He’s historically been a pull-heavy hitter, with 43.4% of his batted balls going in that direction.
But we may be witnessing a transformation. De La Cruz is already an MVP-caliber player from the left side. If he becomes a legitimate threat from the right, his ceiling rises even higher. Could he become the first switch-hitting MVP since Jimmy Rollins in 2007? If his spring performance is any indication, that conversation might not be far off.
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