Bobby Witt Jr. remains the shortstop standard Elly De La Cruz must chase

In many ways, 2026 was a banner year for Cincinnati Reds superstar shortstop Elly De La Cruz. The 24-year-old crossed the 30-30 threshold for the first time this season. He fixed one of his biggest flaws, improving dramatically against lefties, entering the year with a .607 career OPS against southpaws and pulverizing left-handed pitching to the tune of a .990 OPS in 2026.

Hitting .283/.365/.515 this season represented career highs in all three metrics for De La Cruz. That's a sensational slash line for any position, but especially for a shortstop, which is still a glove-first job to an extent.

As good as Elly is, and as much as he has leveled up, he's still not the best at the position. A CBS Sports ranking of the best shortstops for fantasy baseball might seem like a weird way to gauge it, but ultimately, it's the purest form of evaluation. This is all about raw production, and by that metric, De La Cruz came in second to Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.

Witt's 2026 season was a down year, with him hitting .281/.359/.441 with 18 homers and 45 steals. Even so, that subpar season still has Witt firmly in the AL MVP conversation. For his career, he owns a .288/.343/.493 line, which is still another level above De La Cruz's career mark of .262/.338/.463.

Elly De La Cruz is still behind Bobby Witt Jr., but the Reds superstar could make the leap with an MVP performance in 2027

Offense is just one part of the equation, of course. Witt is a phenomenal defender, posting 8 defensive runs saved and leading all shortstops with 24 outs above average. De La Cruz was more of a mixed bag, recording -8 defensive runs saved and 7 outs above average. That isn't to say that Cincinnati's centerpiece isn't capable of making highlight-reel plays, though.

The easiest way to look at the value of the total package that each player provides is by evaluating their WAR. For this, we'll use fWAR by year, and it will become clear that De La Cruz is still a step behind Witt, though he's gaining ground.

The tide might be turning, though. De La Cruz finished the season red hot. In September, he slashed an eye-watering .348/.437/.719 with nine home runs. At one point, he had a 23-game stat-stuffing on-base streak that had only ever been done before by inner-circle Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig. That was the cherry on top of a second-half surge that saw De La Cruz put forth a .293/.385/.543 performance.

If De La Cruz can pick up where he left off in 2027, and if he spends the offseason tightening up some defensive fundamentals, it's not hard to see him finishing the year with MVP hardware. That's the one thing that has eluded Witt throughout his young career. That's not entirely his fault. He's shared a league with Aaron Judge, who has literally been Babe Ruth reincarnated before his injury-marred 2026.

De La Cruz has otherworldly tools, and as good as he's been, he's yet to put them all together. If and when he does — and that could be as soon as next season — he should nab the crown as MLB's best shortstop.

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