Who is the best shortstop in baseball?
The conventional answer at the moment would probably be Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and for good reason. The 26-year-old is a three-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove Award winner, two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, won a batting title in 2023 and won the Platinum Glove Award last season. He also has finished second and fourth in AL MVP voting in each of the last two seasons.
However, if you ask that question to Reds legend Joey Votto? You will get a different answer. The 2010 NL MVP joined MLB Now on Friday and he made the case that Cincinnati's Elly De La Cruz is the best shortstop in baseball.
Entering play Friday, Elly De La Cruz was hitting .284/.362/.517 with 29 doubles, 28 home runs, 74 RBIs, 150 hits, 26 stolen bases and an OPS+ of 142 in 134 games. In comparison, Bobby Witt Jr. was hitting .276/.359/.441 with 30 doubles, 18 home runs, 54 RBIs, 144 hits, 42 stolen bases and 126 OPS+ in the same amount of games (134).
Votto made his case based on that Witt's home stadium (Kauffman Stadium) helps his style of game better than De La Cruz's home venue (Great American Ball Park). Offensively, the numbers bear that out, as Witt is hitting .306/.376/.519 at home this season. On the road, his numbers aren't as strong, as he is hitting .245/.340/.360 in away games this season.
De La Cruz, on the other hand, is hitting .301/.395/.544 at home this season and his offense has not dipped as much on the road. In away games, he is hitting .268/.329/.491.
The area where Witt stands out above De La Cruz is defensively. Witt is third overall in baseball with 22 Outs Above Average (OAA), fourth overall in Fielding Run Value (16) and he has 8 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), per FanGraphs. De La Cruz has mixed numbers in those metrics, as he has 8 OAA (tied for 33rd), 5 FRV (tied for 62nd) and -6 DRS.
Votto made the case that defense is the only thing keeping De La Cruz from being one of baseball's best players.
"That's probably the last piece of the puzzle [to put] him into the [Shohei] Ohtani, putting him in that [Aaron] Judge, putting him in that 'best player in the sport' -- Pete Crow-Armstrong -- category," Votto said.