De La Cruz's new stance is more open, according to the Cincinnati ... The 23-year-old is already one of the most exciting young players in baseball, but he led the league with 218 strikeouts ...

Open-stanced footwork will help you get to balls ... It will take some repetition to get the timing down pat, but the stance will become one fluid movement.

While a roster featuring an elite talent like Bryce Harper has the talent to compete, it may lack the final pieces needed to claim the title.