Elly De La Cruz: MLB's Best Shortstop in 2026?

On September 8, 2026, at Dodger Stadium, Elly De La Cruz hit a 444-foot home run off Tarik Skubal — the longest ball hit in that ballpark all season — and minutes later uncorked a 105.3 mph throw from center field to gun down Teoscar Hernández at the plate. The Reds lost 3-2. None of that changes what De La Cruz did that night, and none of it changes what he’s been doing all year.

Through September 9, De La Cruz leads every shortstop in Major League Baseball in wRC+ (136), wOBA (.375), OPS (.868), and SLG (.506), per data published by @wilberdata. That’s not one metric pointing in a direction — that’s four different ways of measuring offensive production all arriving at the same conclusion.

One Night, Two Plays, One Different Level

The home run was the longest ball hit at Dodger Stadium all season — seven feet longer than anything Shohei Ohtani hit in his own park. It was De La Cruz’s 25th of 2026, matching his own franchise record as a switch-hitter for Cincinnati and extending his home run streak to four consecutive games.

The throw that followed was arguably more jaw-dropping. From center field, De La Cruz fired a 105.3 mph strike to the plate to nail Hernández — the hardest throw by any position player in the entire 2026 MLB season, topping the 103.9 mph recorded by Mets rookie Carson Benge. The fact that the same player did both things in the same game isn’t a coincidence. It’s a category.

The rest of the Cincinnati lineup went a combined 3-for-27, all singles. De La Cruz was the only player on the field who looked like he belonged somewhere else entirely.

Why His Numbers Among Shortstops Have No Comparison

Leading four separate offensive metrics among all MLB shortstops simultaneously doesn’t happen often. A wRC+ of 136 means De La Cruz is producing 36% above the league-average hitter. His OPS of .868 ranks 11th across all of baseball, regardless of position.

According to Baseball Savant, his average exit velocity sits at 94.4 mph — 99th percentile in the entire league. A barrel rate of 15.5% and a hard-hit rate of 52.6% confirm he’s not running up loud numbers by accident. More than half of his contact is leaving the bat above 95 mph.

The growth curve makes it even harder to dismiss. He finished 2024 with a wRC+ of 121 and OPS of .819. In 2025 that climbed to a wRC+ of 128. Now in 2026 he’s at 136 with the season still running. That’s not a breakout — it’s a player improving on schedule, year after year.

In the 14 games leading up to September 9, he reached base in every single one, hitting .448 with 3 home runs, 7 walks, and 15 runs scored. That’s not a hot streak. That’s consistency in the toughest stretch of the season.

A Franchise-Caliber Player on a Non-Contender

The Reds were 69-76 on September 9 and effectively eliminated. De La Cruz has 163 career stolen bases and 81 career home runs, has been named to two All-Star teams (2024 and 2025), and in 2024 became the first shortstop in MLB history to post 25 home runs and 65 or more stolen bases in the same season — all while playing for a team that rarely enters postseason conversations.

Cincinnati signed him out of the Dominican Republic in 2018 for $60,000 while scouts were actually there looking at someone else. He’s now the most dominant offensive shortstop in the major leagues, and the numbers don’t leave much room for debate.

The MVP conversation gets complicated by the team’s losing record — that’s always weighed on voters historically — but the on-field case is airtight. There isn’t a shortstop in baseball in 2026 doing what De La Cruz does with the bat, the arm, and his legs. The Reds are going to have to figure out what they do with that.