Welcome back to the Reds Beat newsletter! Mark Sheldon has covered baseball for MLB.com since 2001, including the Reds since 2006.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Elly De La Cruz had one sensational first month in the big leagues for the Reds last season, followed by two months of offensive struggles. But it didn't matter whether the shortstop/third baseman was playing well, badly or in-between. De La Cruz was capable of upending a game at any moment.

Like last year, opposing managers will have to gameplan for a 22-year-old switch-hitter with five-tool talent in 2024. What do they think of De La Cruz? I recently asked some National League skippers about the rising Reds superstar.

Rockies manager Bud Black:

“Well, he is a rare athletic talent with size and speed for a shortstop. Watching him play third base, shortstop, [he has] tremendous athleticism at a premium position that combines speed and power. What a cannon, the arm. He is just all tooled up in all the best ways.”

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo:

“We spent a lot of time talking about him. I remember we're going over our game plan. We determined that at a certain point in time with him standing up there a certain way, that we weren't going to let him beat us. Because he can impact the game on an incredible level. Whether it be offense or defense, be aware. This is a very talented, young player that can carry a game and turn the game around with one swing of the bat or one defensive play.”

Brewers manager Pat Murphy, who was Milwaukee's bench coach in 2023:

“I was hoping they would trade him. The guy's got it all. He's got it all. Seems like he loves to play. He’s a force.”

Cubs manager Craig Counsell, who managed the Brewers in 2023:

“I mean he was pretty good for whatever the first month was, that's a good player. Can he be better? We're talking pretty, pretty good then. If I were the Reds, I’d take the first month of what he did, every day.”

The 6-foot-5 De La Cruz batted .325 with an .887 OPS over his first 30 games and .191 with a .627 OPS over the final 68 games. Overall, he struck out 144 times in 427 plate appearances (33.7 percent) but he also led the team with 35 stolen bases.

On the adjustments?

Counsell: 

“I think it's kind of a classic young player scenario where the league is just constantly adjusting. You just have to keep adjusting, and he'll certainly learn that. But he got his first taste of [how] the league adjusted to him, and that's what makes playing in the big leagues hard, even for the most talented players. The league is going to continue to adjust. Pitchers are going to continue to adjust and when they find something they think they can expose, they're going to make you close that off.”

Black:

“Minor League pitching is way different than big league pitching. Major League pitchers find out real quick what they need to do against young, talented hitters that might be a little bit aggressive, which he is. I don't know the young man, but I can only assume that he'll make adjustments.”

Through one turn of Spring Training games, nine Reds starting-pitching candidates combined for 17 2/3 scoreless innings. That streak ended on Friday, when Brandon Williamson gave up three earned runs and five hits with no walks and five strikeouts over three innings in a 12-8 loss to the D-backs.

Although Williamson is trying to make the team as a starter out of camp, he is still using the time to work on his pitches. The pitch he featured vs. Arizona was a slider, which he had tweaked over the winter in order to throw it more with two strikes during the season.

Against Kyle Garlick in the second inning, Williamson hung a two-strike slider that was crushed to left field for a two-run home run.

"I felt pretty good outside of that," Williamson said. "I threw a different version of [a slider] last year. I kind of switched it a little bit. Now I can throw it more comfortably and I can use it more."

Added Reds manager David Bell: "It's kind of hard to make too much of it because he's actually working on his slider. He probably threw more than he would typically throw simply trying to get hitters out. From that standpoint, he did what he was trying to do. The last inning, he came out and got more aggressive."

Williamson threw two scoreless innings with one hit and two strikeouts against the Angels on Feb. 25. Overall, the left-hander is feeling good about his camp.

"I was throwing five pitches, all that were moving exactly the way I wanted them to," Williamson said. "Now it’s just a matter of getting my velocity back, speed and midseason-form type of stuff."

"They've got a really good young core of players that reminds me of ours. If you take them lightly, they're going to find a way to beat you. … I think I'm on the record as saying I can't wait to see the Reds, because I'm a baseball fan. When I'm there watching young talent, it really fires me up." -- Lovullo on the Reds

• Speaking of De La Cruz, his first homer of spring was a long one. Read more >>

• Christian Encarnacion-Strand on taking over first base from a certain franchise icon. Read more >>

• Former Red Nick Castellanos hit a spring homer for the Phillies, which distracted the bat boy -- his son Liam -- from doing his job. Read more >>

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