Reds Superstar Elly De La Cruz Is Set to Become the Best Player in the NL Central

Elly De La Cruz was on pace to have a ridiculously good season in 2025 before he injured his quad and played hurt down the stretch.

He has been red hot at the dish to start Spring Training and all signs are pointing to a big season from the Reds infielder.

MLB.com's Will Leitch gave out preseason predictions for awards in each division.

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• MVP: Elly De La Cruz
• Cy Young: Paul Skenes
• Rookie of the Year: JJ Wetherholt
• Manager of the Year: Craig Counsell

When healthy, De La Cruz has the potential to be one of the best players in the sport. It's no surprise to see him picked as the MVP of the NL Central.

"It’s all going to come together at some point for De La Cruz, when he gets all his physical gifts working for him at once, for a whole season, and completely wrecks the competition. It’s coming soon," Leitch wrote.

With Eugenio Suarez projected to hit behind De La Cruz in the lineup, he will have protection he's never had in his short career. That should help him see more pitches to hit and do damage with. De La Cruz hit 25 and 22 home runs over the last two seasons. I'd anticipate that number to be closer to 30 in 2026. He stole just 37 bases last season after stealing 67 in 2024. It would be surprising if De La Cruz doesn't eclipse 40 stolen bases in 2026.

You can see the full list of awards here.