Elly De La Cruz Continues To Be Must Watch TV - This Time Scoring From 2nd on a Pickoff Throw

John Fisher. Getty Images.

The phrase 'electric factory' gets thrown around too much these days, but for Elly De La Cruz it's perfectly appropriate. He's the kind of player that baseball needs to help grow the game. People want to go to the park or turn on the TV to see him do his thing. He's a 1 of 1. Why? Because he can do shit like this. 

Outrageous. I think part of what makes Elly special is knowing he can do this and being aggressive with his play. The moment that ball trickles away he's thinking about scoring. When he kicks it into high gear there with his long strides it's unmatched speed. The perfect baserunner. The fear of his speed during a play actually causes defenses to panic and make mistakes whether it be a pitcher holding him on or an outfielder trying to play a bounce off the wall. That's special. 

Elly is up to 36 stolen bases on the year, which is 12 more than the next closest guy. The gap between first and second there is the same as second and 23rd. Even with the new rules, I'm still not sure Ricky Henderson's 130 is breakable, but if it is Elly will be the guy. Probably will have to involve him getting that OBP into the .350s or higher, and that will come as his game further develops. He's only 22 years old and just scratching the surface of his talents. He still strikes out too much and his swing leaves a lot to be desired, but it's only his second season. He'll adjust to pitchers' adjustments and improve on his game. In the mean time, he remains must watch every time he steps on the field. 

P.S. Can baseball gets its head out of its ass and add a base running competition to the All Star Game? Have it go before the home run derby and serve as MLB's version of the 3 point contest. Quickest way to spice up a stale night.