Elly De La Cruz is trying to do something no player has done in nearly 40 years: Steal 100 or more bases in a single MLB season.
Through 48 games, the Reds speedster is up to 30 steals heading into Wednesday, putting him in line to be the first player to eclipse triple digits since Vince Coleman swiped 109 bases in 1987.
MLB’s new rule changes to encourage more stolen bases have helped him, but De La Cruz is blowing the rest of the league out of the water, stealing 12 more bags than the player with the second-most swipes (Bryce Turang), and outpacing 15 whole teams.
He joins Scott Podsednik (2005), Carl Crawford (2009) and Dee Strange-Gordon (2014) as the only players this century to have 30-plus steals in their first 48 games of a season.
It’s a torrid pace to keep up, but DraftKings Sportsbook is giving him a shot.
Elly De La Cruz 100+ steals odds
| Total | Odds |
| Over 99.5 steals | +350 |
| Under 99.5 steals | -450 |
As the odds show, De La Cruz hitting the 100 mark is still unlikely, but it’s incredible that it’s even a conversation.
To no one’s surprise, De La Cruz is one of the fastest players in the big leagues, registering a 30-feet-per-second sprint speed this year, which trails only Bobby Witt Jr. and Victor Scott II (30.4 ft./sec).
Last season, during his rookie year, De La Cruz stole 35 bags in just 98 games played, but that was paired with a measly .300 on-base percentage.
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De La Cruz has taken his game to the next level in his sophomore season, playing himself into the National League MVP race through one-third of the season, slashing .262/.355/.483 with nine home runs while manning shortstop for the Reds.
At just 22 years old, De La Cruz has the fifth-best odds to win the award at +1500 (DraftKings Sportsbook), tied with the Phillies’ Alex Bohm.