Reds Infielder On Track For 3rd 100-Steal Season In Franchise History.
Cincinnati Reds infielder Elly De La Cruz already has 30 stolen bases, more than 18 MLB teams, and is on pace to swipe 110 for the season. The last time that happened was in 1985 when the St. Louis Cardinals Vince Coleman stole 110 bases. Cruz was the 2023 National League Rookie of the Year.
Reds Infielder Stealing More Bases Than 18 Other Teams
Last season, De La Cruz had 35 stolen bases, and with June approaching he’s already reached 30. In addition to Coleman, Rickey Henderson, Lou Brock, Tom Brown, Maury Wills, Pete Browning, Billy Hamilton, Arlie Latham, Hugh Nicol, and John Ward also stole 100 or more bases in a season. But is De La Cruz on pace to earn his first 100 stolen base season? He had four stolen bases and hits against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. But as of recently, he hadn’t had enough protection in the lineup for him to get on base. If he were a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Elly would already be in the Top 10 of single-season steals for the franchise.
And we can see he’s been frustrated with all the walks and is starting to swing at pitches way out of the zone again, leading to a recent (0-for-13 skid with eight strikeouts. But rookies will have their ups and downs, and this is normal. But if there’s one thing we know about the youngster, it’s that his speed is lethal. Last season, for example, De La Cruz reached base on a line drive to the Houston Astros’ first baseman. This season, he has 3.6 BsR, which is second behind Brice Turang‘s (4.0). BsR (base runs), is a stat that calculates how many runs a team “should have” scored, looking at their combined offense and the number of runs a hitter or pitcher creates or surrenders.
