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September 18, 2009

Player Profile

Nelson Cruz

by Marc Normandin

It seems like it took forever for it to happen, but Nelson Cruz has proven himself to be a fine major league hitter over the past year. It took multiple organizations and a lot of time in the minors, but Cruz has turned himself into an important and productive member of the Rangers as they attempt to reach the playoffs for the first time since 1999, and for just the fourth time in their nearly 50-year history. What changed for Cruz over the past year or so that turned him into the hitter many thought he could be when he was tearing apart the minors?

Nelson Ramon Cruz was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Mets back in 1998, and played for the organization's Dominican Summer League team for the next three seasons. After the 2000 season, he was stolen away by the Athletics in exchange for shortstop Jorge Velandia, who to this day has just about the same number of major league plate appearances as I do. Cruz' progress through the minors was very slow—he moved up a level each season after being dealt by the Mets, but he was, at that stage, all tools and no stats. He started to show more power in his age-22 season in Low-A, hitting 17 home runs in 413 at-bats, but he also hit just .230/.283/.419 overall. Cruz had a lot to work on in his game; he struck out 116 times, and walked just 25 times. Still, there was a lot to like, and despite the fact he was now 22 years old and still in A-ball, this was basically Cruz' first full season in the minors—his 2003 season had more at-bats than his 2001-2002 campaigns combined. He also had a lot of filling out left to do, as he was listed in the vicinity of 6'3" and 170 pounds by various outlets at this point—a far cry from the meatier-looking Cruz we see today.

The 2004 season was a fresh start for Cruz, as the A's promoted him to High-A and watched many of his problems disappear. Cruz would hit .345/.407/.582 in 261 at-bats for the Modesto A's, popping 11 homers and 27 doubles while walking just 24 times. He still struck out a ton—73 times in 261 at-bats was around the same rate as the year before—but at least things didn't get worse in that area with the promotion. Given that he was now 23, the A's had no problem shoving Cruz up to Double-A halfway through the year; he succeeded there as well, delivering a line of .313/.377/.542. The strikeouts stuck with him once again, but so did the walks and the power. He had a brief trial in Triple-A before year's end, accumulating 13 at-bats and delivering a few extra-base hits. You can attribute Cruz' success to his improved approach at the plate; his pitch recognition improved—he learned to lay off the high fastball that had given him trouble in the past—and he began to use the entire field by going with the pitch and hitting it the other way.

So all of a sudden, Cruz was a legitimate prospect, and his tools had finally turned out a performance on the field. The A's, either unsure of Cruz' true potential or desperate for some middle-infield help, traded him and Justin Lehr to the Brewers that offseason for Keith Ginter. Ginter would spend more time in the minors for the A's than he did helping them at the big-league level, while Cruz would go on to dominate in the minors once again. Baseball America ranked Cruz the 14^th-best prospect in the Brewers' organization heading into the 2005 season, but warned that despite his breakout year there was still some work to be done refining his swing: "Cruz still has a tendency to overswing. He tries to hit every ball further than the last, leaving him slow out of the box." There is such a thing as being too in love with your own power, and Cruz would need to learn to harness a more natural swing if he wanted to succeed at higher levels. Baseball Prospectus 2005 expanded on this, saying, "Cruz is a power player in every sense, trying to hammer everything at the plate while flashing a great arm in the field." We also warned he was a bit old for the level, but we've already covered that a bit here.

The 2005 season would show that the Brewers picked up the better end of the deal, as Cruz continued to hit, posting a line of .306/.388/.577 in Double-A to go along with his strong defensive abilities. Milwaukee put him in Triple-A for the second half of the year, where Cruz struggled relative to Double-A, but overall was solid; a few more points of batting average would make that .269/.382/490 line look a lot different. Baseball America moved Cruz up to eighth overall in their organizational rankings, but stated that despite his "well above-average raw power" and "aggressive swing, strong wrists…quick hands" and "violent bat speed," he suffered from the holes in his swing caused by his aggressive nature at the plate. Pitchers could get him with off-speed stuff, a problem that can only get worse as you progress towards the majors and smarter, more talented opposition. Cruz biggest issue besides that was the Brewers' depth chart: Geoff Jenkins and Carlos Lee were still around, and Corey Hart was ahead of him as well.