Elly De La Cruz declared himself the most exciting player in MLB then proved it absolutely true

MLB insider Jeff Passan recently sat down with the Cincinnati Reds superstar shortstop Elly De La Cruz for an interview. In that interview, he asked him a ton of different questions with one of them being, "Who's the most exciting player in baseball?"

Elly gave quite a simple answer to Passan.

"You're sitting right in front of him," De La Cruz said.

De La Cruz also noted that he wants to be a role model to the kids. He stated how he wants kids to see him as an example. How can you not love this 22-year-old superstar?

On Monday night, the same day that the interview was released, De La Cruz put together one of his best games yet, further proving that he is, in fact, the most exciting player in the game.

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Elly De La Cruz dazzles fans after claiming to be the most exciting player in the game

Just an hour after the interview released, De La Cruz homered on the first pitch that he saw in Monday's game against the Marlins. His next at-bat, he reached base on an error by the pitcher, which could have been ruled a hit, moving all the way to third as his speed wreaked havoc on the Marlins defense. He would proceed to smoke two doubles, both over 109 mph exit velocities, in his next two at bats. In his final at bat of the game, De La Cruz would smoke another mammoth home run deep into the Miami night.

That brings his total to 20 home runs while slashing .261/.347/.496. He also leads the league in stolen bases by quite a wide margin, sitting at 57 stolen bases on the year. Add in the fact that he is one of the best defensive shortstops in the league, per OAA, and you have quite the special player.

De La Cruz has the raw tools that could rival any player in the league. His speed is as good, if not better, than every player in the league. His raw power is among the best in the league as he generates exit velocities north of 110 regularly. His arm strength is also as good as any player in the league. There's nothing that he can't do.

He's truly putting together a special season that could go down as one of the best years in Cincinnati Reds history. And he's still just 22 years old.

Now, to finish this out, I want to pose a very realistic hypothetical. Shohei Ohtani is the NL MVP at this point in the year and it's not close. But given De La Cruz's numbers, if he finishes the year slashing in the ballpark of .270/.375/.510 while becoming the first player in history with 30 home runs and 80 stolen bases, would he get your vote to win the NL MVP?