Elly De La Cruz
- Cincinnati’s roster as it stands starts at SS · 576 PA · 5.3 WAR in the role
- Injured list 2026: Right hamstring strain (Jun 1–Jun 23)
- Trade read Unlikely to be traded: A star (5.1 projected WAR): clubs move players like this only in a full rebuild, usually in his last year of control.
Hitting · 2026 percentiles
vs. MLB hitters with 300+ PA · 635 PA
Platoon splits · swing path
By pitcher handedness
| vs | PA | wOBA | xwOBA | K% | BB% | Chase | Decisions | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | 187 | .432 | .363 | 28% | 10% | 24% | +0.14 | +2.34 |
| RHP | 448 | .375 | .388 | 27% | 12% | 26% | −0.51 | +3.23 |
- Attack angle
- 8.4° (51% in 5–20°)
- Attack direction
- +1.0°
- Swing length
- 7.2 ft
- Fast-swing rate
- 56%
- Pull-air %
- 12.2%
- Hard-hit %
- 54.9%
- Slash · wRC+
- .283/.365/.515 · 139
Zone map · 2026
Where he does damage, and where to pitch him
Does the most damage middle-in (+3.6 vs. league per 100; 1.6 standard errors on 63 pitches, inside the noise for the best of nine cells).
Weakest middle-middle (−2.9), but only 1.4 standard errors from average on 111 pitches: no in-zone spot to attack yet.
Runs per 100 pitches vs. an average LHB: better · worse. Catcher’s view · 1,705 pitches · faded cells are within one standard error of average. A spot is called only when it is farther from average than the best or worst of nine average cells gets 95% of the time (set from the league’s own pitches: about 3 standard errors above, 2 below).
Most similar hitters
Swings like Cruz: bat path, contact quality and approach
| Similarity | Player | xwOBA | ’26 WAR | ’27 proj | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 58 | Pete Alonso BAL · ’94 | .403 | 5.0 | 2.5 | Signed $33.5M |
| 57 | James Wood WSH · ’02 | .405 | 4.1 | 3.2 | Pre-arb |
| 50 | Garrett Mitchell MIL · ’98 | .356 | 3.1 | 2.5 | Arb |
| 47 | Oneil Cruz PIT · ’98 | .352 | 3.3 | 2.3 | Arb |
| 46 | Matt Olson ATL · ’94 | .351 | 4.0 | 2.5 | Signed $22.0M |
Nearest neighbours on bat speed, swing length, attack angle, squared-up and blast rates, EV90, barrels, pull-air, chase, zone contact, K% and BB%. 2026 regulars only.
Fielding
2027 rating at every position he can play · OAA by position · range by direction · tools. Same engine as the Fielding Lab and the Winter Plan.
| Season | Pos | OAA | Range | Arm, DP | Runs | Batters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | SS | +7 | +5 | −0.5 | +4.5 | 5,031 |
| 2025 | SS | −3 | −2 | +2.2 | +0.2 | 5,825 |
| 2024 | SS | +14 | +11 | −2.0 | +9.0 | 5,939 |
| 2023 | 3B | +3 | +2 | −0.4 | +1.6 | 1,144 |
| 2023 | SS | +1 | +1 | −0.9 | +0.1 | 2,588 |
Runs = range plus his arm and double-play runs spread over his positions by outs (Fielding Run Value, from 2023): what the rating counts.
At SS in 2026, the biggest loss came toward 1B line (−3 outs): a coaching target.
Tools (percentile; arm among SSs)| Season | Zone | Balls | Outs vs. exp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | SS | 426 | −1.9 |
| 2025 | SS | 536 | 0.0 |
| 2024 | SS | 546 | −1.4 |
The zone rating counts every ball hit to his part of the field while he played there, his club’s positioning included; Savant OAA uses his actual starting spot and is the better individual grade. They agree best in the outfield. See the model card.
Contract & projection
Club control (RosterResource) · Keystone projected WAR
* projected arbitration or minimum salary. Contract Studio →
Minor leagues
MLB Stats API · public box-score data
| SeasonLevel | Level | Team | Age | G | PA / IP | PA / IP ·Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026AAA | AAA | Louisville Bats | 24 | 3 | 9 PA | 9 PA · .250/.333/.625 · 1 HR · 33.3% K · 11.1% BB |
ABS challenges · 2026
Baseball Savant