Last season for the first time ever Major League Baseball had its first ever 40/70 season with Ronald Acuna Jr. He hit 40 home runs and had 70 stolen bases. The last player to steal 70 bases was Jacoby Ellsbury in 2009 and the last National League Player was Jose Reyes in 2007. There’s one player this season who is off to a hot start and likely won’t hit 40 home runs but could produce a 30/80 season and that is Elly De La Cruz. De La Cruz to start the season has played in 26 games and he has seven home runs with 17 stolen bases which is good for the most in all of baseball. With the numbers he has put up with how many games he has played in he is on pace to hit 43 home runs with 105 stolen bases. Now that is unlikely due to streaks and he’ll likely get cold from time to time throughout the season but the realm of him hitting 30 home runs with 80 stolen bases is not out of the realm of possibility; the last player to steal 80 bases or more in a season was Ricky Henderson in 1988.
Elly De La Cruz By The Numbers
De La Cruz was ranked the tenth overall prospect entering 2023 and he made his debut on June 6th going 1-3 with a double and two walks. In his 15th career game, he hit for the cycle against the Braves also collecting four RBI. He finished the 2023 season hitting .235 with a .710 OPS; he had 15 doubles, seven triples, 13 home runs, 44 RBI, 67 runs scored, 35 stolen bases and 35 walks. This season he is hitting .299 with a 1.040 OPS; he has five doubles, a triple, seven home runs, 18 RBI, 24 runs scored, 17 stolen bases, and 17 walks.
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