Why Cincinnati Reds don’t view Elly De La Cruz post-break slump as ‘any major concern’
Cincinnati Reds rookie Elly De La Cruz has struggled since the All-Star break, including strikeouts in nearly half his at-bats. And the K train picked up a bit more steam since he moved to the leadoff spot Monday.
But no worries, the Reds insist: His at-bats are good, seeing a lot of pitches, blah, blah, blah.
And then this:
After a scheduled day off Saturday, De La Cruz opened Sunday’s game with a no-doubter home run against Arizona Diamondbacks “opener” José Ruiz.
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One at-bat doesn’t provide enough time or space to define a slump buster.
But it might have offered at least a bit of insight into the Reds’ madness behind their method for rotating days off for the regulars — if not a glimpse of why they say they’e not worried about baseball’s freshman sensation.
“I’ve always been amazed how much one day, just a little bit of a different perspective can help a player. Especially a young player,” manager David Bell said of both the mental and physical benefits.
“And I consider it a break even if they come into the game later,” he added. “The first half to three-quarters of your day is a lot different, and you still get the benefits out of it.”
De La Cruz came off the bench in Saturday’s eighth inning to pinch run at third base, with runners at second and third and none out — and it paid off when the fastest sprinter in the game scored easily on a sharp one-hopper to first for a big insurance run in a 4-2 victory.
But until Sunday’s home run, De La Cruz was just 2-for-31 at the plate (.065) with no extra-base hits, three walks (one intentional), 15 strikeouts and a .236 OPS.
In five games as the leadoff man to that point, he was 2-for-19 with the three walks and 10 Ks (.366 OPS).
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“We know that he’s been pitched very tough; they’re trying to make perfect pitches on him,” Bell said. “And you’re going to go outside of your zone at times.
“But there’s not any sort of major concern that he’s chasing,” Bell said. “If anything, it’s being more ready and being efficient with his swing to handle the pitch in the strike zone. That’s where he should be right now.”
De La Cruz said over the weekend that he hasn’t found the leadoff spot especially daunting or different.
“We’re just getting comfortable with it, adjusting to it. But it’s nothing out of the ordinary,” he said in Spanish, through team interpreter Jorge Merlos.
“The biggest thing is that since you’re the first batter you just have to be really, really prepared on time for the first couple pitches,” he added. “But other than that, everything is just normal.”
Sunday’s results also underscored the reality of the switch-hitting De La Cruz’s dramatic left-right splits this season — with all of his home runs and most of his production coming from the left side against right-handers, despite the fact he was a natural right-handed hitter as a kid.
On a Sunday the Diamondbacks used an opener and a “bullpen day” to cover the nine innings, the homer came against the one right-hander he faced. He struck out and grounded out twice against three different lefties the rest of the game.
“I don’t think they’re throwing anything differently, per se,” De La Cruz said through Merlos. “A lot of the pitches that they’re throwing are for me to swing over and chase a lot of stuff. But we’re making adjustments so we’re able to get something out of it.”
Whether the homer was a sign of things to come, De La Cruz did say he thought the adjustments were starting to pay off.
“I’m comfortable (now),” he said. “Just ready for anything that comes my way.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why Reds say they have no 'major concern' over Elly De La Cruz slump
