The Diamondbacks will take on the Cincinnati Reds, in a matchup of two teams that have disappointed out of the gate in 2024. One player who has made a massive impact for the Reds has been their switch-hitting shortstop, Elly De La Cruz.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!De La Cruz is off to a scintillating start for Cincinnati, batting .277 with eight home runs, 19 stolen bases, and a .928 OPS in 34 games. His 19 stolen bases leads all of Major League Baseball and his OPS ranks seventh amongst qualified National League hitters. Putting those two things together, it’s clear that he’s the spark plug in the Reds’ lineup. Containing his impact in the series is critical if the Diamondbacks want to walk out of Great American Ballpark with a series win.
Due to his recent hot streak at the plate, the Reds moved Elly De La Cruz from sixth in the batting order to second. They’ve also placed their second-best hitter, Spencer Steer, right behind him in the batting order. From a lineup construction standpoint, that makes a lot of sense as De La Cruz has a .780 OPS facing left-handed pitching vs. 1.019 against right-handers in 2024. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo will have to be on point when matching up against De La Cruz, and they need to win that matchup, as Steer has a career .290/.368/.516 slash line in 253 plate appearances against left-handed pitching.
Throughout the game, expect Lovullo to bring in left-handed relievers to try to minimize the impact of Cincinnati’s best hitter. The Diamondbacks have Joe Mantiply and Logan Allen as their main left-handed options in the bullpen. Mantiply is the team’s preferred late-inning option, with his changeup being a big weapon against right-handed hitters.
Despite the challenge of facing one of the game’s most exciting young players, there is a massive hole in De La Cruz’s game the Diamondbacks can exploit. There is a lot of swing-and-miss in his game, as evidenced by a 35.2% whiff rate and a 32.6% strikeout rate. Those metrics rate in the sixth and ninth percentile amongst all qualified MLB hitters when looking at his Statcast profile.
If the Diamondbacks can execute their pitches against Elly De La Cruz, they should be able to contain him. If they don’t, he is one of the best hitters at getting the barrel on the baseball and could take over the entire series with his bat and speed.
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Michael McDermott is the lead writer covering the Arizona Diamondbacks for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
