Elly De La Cruz's post-All-Star lull is quietly crushing Reds' playoff hopes

The Cincinnati Reds are in the playoff chase despite their best player playing his worst baseball of the season. Entering playing on Wednesday, the Reds trail the New York Mets by just two games in the NL Wild Card race, and Elly De La Cruz has been a shell of himself since the All-Star break.

De La Cruz is far and away the most talented player on the Reds roster. In terms of raw power, speed, and all the other metrics one can use to measure a player's abilities, De La Cruz blows away the competition. But his struggles over the past month are costing the Reds dearly, and he needs to flip the switch in order for Cincinnati to have any chance at making a postseason run.

De La Cruz is not the only Reds' player who's underperformed of late — Austin Hays, Matt McLain, and Tyler Stephenson have all been playing below expectations. But this is the time of year when teams need their star players to step up and lead, and for the Reds, that's De La Cruz.

Elly De La Cruz's post-All-Star lull is quietly crushing Reds' playoff hopes

Since the All-Star break, De La Cruz is hitting just .240/.311/.333 and has only one home run and 11 RBI. He's also striking out three times as much as he's walking, which is a problem that's haunted De La Cruz in the past.

De La Cruz's defense has also been shoddy of late. Of his 16 errors on the year, four have come over the last month. That doesn't even include the defensive miscue during Tuesday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies that was ruled a hit (but should've been an error) by the official scorer.

De La Cruz is 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts since the Midsummer Classic, but the superstar has been swiping bags much less frequently than he did in 2024 — though that can be somewhat attributed to Terry Francona's philosophy.

In the Reds' 63 wins this season, De La Cruz is hitting .297/.370/.528 with 13 home runs and 56 RBI. In Cincinnati's 58 losses, the Reds' shortstop is hitting just .250/.327/.386 with six homers and 18 RBI. In short, if the Reds are to have any hope of contending down the stretch, De La Cruz has to step up and lead the offense.

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