CHARLESTON, WV – On Friday night after the West Virginia Power game, I was wrapping up an interview with hitting coach Ryan Long. We had discussed Adrian Valerio and Yoel Gonzalez, two players I had seen in the previous two games. At the end of the interview, he was surprised.
“You’re not going to ask about Cruz?!” Long asked.
I told him I was going to wait until I saw Cruz play. Long then started telling me about how Cruz had been taking batting practice the last two days, and had some serious raw power. He said Cruz might have some of the best raw power in the entire organization, and more than most of the guys in the majors.
A few others in earshot joined in on the discussion, noting that Cruz had hit a home run off a building across the street in right field, and was hitting line drives over a sign in deep center field. West Virginia manager Wyatt Toregas said that Cruz hits the ball as hard as Pedro Alvarez, which is some high praise.
So when I got a chance to see Cruz the next night, I was recording every at-bat, expecting a home run, which isn’t a normal expectation for an 18-year-old in Low-A. Even though I was somewhat expecting it, I was still surprised when Cruz did this.
After the game, during my post-game interview with Toregas, I commented that they weren’t kidding about his power.
“Simple, isn’t it?” Toregas commented. “He hits the two balls the other way. Those were over 100 MPH off the bat. The one to right field was 108 MPH, a line drive that goes 408 feet, and he really didn’t hit it that good. I’ve watched him in BP the past two days, and when he gets it, it’s really something to see. That ball right there, he really didn’t hit it that good compared to what I’ve seen his max at. He just looks very comfortable, he looks very calm. I can’t believe he’s 18 years old. He operates at a very slow tempo. The game is not fast at all for him.”
He then added an important disclaimer.
“After one day.”
It was only one game, and a few batting practice sessions, but it was enough to get a glimpse of the potential that Cruz has. That high praise was reflected all throughout the locker room, and not just in the sense that coaches will say good things about the players, but in the sense that people were genuinely impressed by what they had seen so far from the young third baseman.
I eventually did talk to Long about the power and the swing.
“It’s a special tool he’s got. I think the separator is how easy it comes,” Long said. “I think the bat speed speaks for itself. There’s obviously really good bat speed there. It’s how he generates a lot of what he does. It’s a special tool. We’ll just continue to look forward to developing him, and push him forward.”
Infield coordinator Gary Green was with West Virginia last week, although he was mostly just observing Cruz, and will wait until instructs to work with him. He did come away impressed with what he saw.
“The ease of operation for him on both sides of the ball is really impressive,” Green said. “He does things easy. In general, when we see guys work like that, that’s talent. He’s talented. First look at him, very impressive.”
Assistant General Manager Kyle Stark was also in attendance over the weekend. I asked him if the power was a big thing that drew them to trading for Cruz at the deadline last week.
“We felt like this is a very young man that has a chance to do a lot of different things on the baseball field,” Stark said. “[He’s] growing into his body. And the power is definitely one of the things that really excited us. Other scouts had seen it, objectively. We’d seen it in terms of him hitting the ball really hard. I think as he continues to get synced up with his body, and figure out how to play this game, he’s got a chance to play pretty well.”
Having this type of easy power is going to draw a lot of attention. But the low minors are filled with guys who have raw power and will never make it out of A-ball. One of the other impressive things that stood out about Cruz was his maturity.
I was surprised that the Dodgers moved Cruz to Low-A at the age of 18, and in his first assignment in the United States. Cruz said that he was surprised by it as well, although he’s been handling the adjustment well.
“It’s the same baseball everywhere,” Cruz said through translator Julio Eusebio. “I just got excited and I was surprised. It felt good that the first year in the states I went to the full season league right away.”
The numbers from Cruz in the Midwest League weren’t strong, and my first thought was that he might have been in over his head. But watching him in just that one game, I saw a guy that looked very calm and mature, as if he definitely belonged at this level. His home run came off a left-handed pitcher, when a lot of lefties in the low levels struggle in that scenario. His fielding was smooth. His work at the plate looked effortless. He demeanor after the game during interviews was calm, confident, and relaxed.
The maturity is the other thing that stood out in the clubhouse.
“That’s the thing that even Gary Green was mentioning yesterday,” Long said. “The calmness was what stands out. Very calm, under control. It seems like things just come easy. You definitely see that.”
Toregas recalled what he was doing at the age of 18, showing the comparison of how special it is that Cruz doesn’t look over-matched at this level.
“When I was 18 years old, I was playing in high school against kids throwing 78 MPH,” Toregas said. “This guy is a full season professional level, and standing out. When you see the body, it stands out. When you see the practice, it stands out. And that game tonight stands out. He’s got a good arm. He scored from first tonight with ease. He can cover some ground. I think he’s extremely gifted, and he’s mentally in a good spot. It’s not my job to put guys in places, and we’ll see how it goes from here, but we might be holding him back if we keep him here, you know? But he’s 18. He’s got plenty of time. He does some things that 22 year olds won’t do.”
The Pirates typically send their players to the GCL during their first year in the US. That’s not always the case though. They’ve sent some players to Bristol, Morgantown, and even some older players to West Virginia. But if a guy is 18-years-old, he’s almost certainly going to the GCL, in order to get eased in to life in the US. The next year is when he’d go to Low-A, if the talent warrants it.
I asked Stark if he was surprised that Cruz went to Low-A, considering the Pirates don’t really make that type of move.
“I think when you see a guy jump from the Dominican Summer League to Low-A, it seems aggressive,” Stark said. “As we’ve gotten around him, we can see why somebody would be aggressive with him. I think one of the things we continue to try to look at is, are guys at the right level, not are they better than the level? Are they at the level where they’re getting stretched and being challenged without being over-matched? That certainly seems to be the case with him, both in terms of his abilities, but also in terms of his sense of confidence with himself.”
Cruz is mature and has a ton of raw power, but this is still an 18-year-old kid who has plenty to work on before he can be a big league player. I saw a great game that featured Cruz going 3-for-4 with a homer and several plays in the field. But I also saw some things that could eventually use some work.
One thing was his swing, specifically with how much movement he has and how long the swing is. He’s got long arms, and quick hands, so you’d expect a long swing. He looks similar to how Gregory Polanco looked in the minors, although Polanco has worked to shorten his swing in the majors the last two years. That could be something for Cruz to work on in the future.
“I definitely see some similarities there,” Long said about the similarity to Polanco. “As all of these guys will as they get older, they typically become a better version of themselves, and that means a simpler version of themselves. Not much changes to the style, other than being able to tighten the swing up, controlling the barrel more, things like that, which we fully expect him to get the hang of.”
The other thing that stood out was the defense. There is some concern that the 6′ 6″ Cruz can’t stick at third base in the long-term due to his height. I didn’t see any glaring issues there, as he moved very well for a guy of his size. He did have an issue on one play where he bobbled the ball as he was bending down to pick up a slow roller, although a strong throw got the runner at first. He had another bobble later in the game, having trouble getting the ball out of his glove.
“He moves extremely well for a guy his size,” Toregas said. “Has no problem catching balls off to the side. Funnels well. Has soft hands. We’ll keep an eye out with that transfer stuff. We can always do work with that. But at the end of the day, catching the ball is the hard part. The way he moved to that slow roller today, he got to that easily. There was a little bobble, but I am encouraged by the way he moves and his feel for his body with it being so big.”
Cruz was surprised that he was traded, since this is only his second professional season. He wasn’t surprised that the Pirates were the team that traded for him, saying that they tried hard to sign him when he was an international free agent. He ended up receiving a $950,000 bonus from the Dodgers, although the Pirates got him in the end.
After getting a first impression of Cruz, and talking to people around the clubhouse about him, it’s easy to see why they went after him as an amateur, and it’s easy to see why they continued to pursue him as a trade target. He’s still very raw, which is expected for an 18-year-old, but there’s a lot of talent here, highlighted by some tremendous raw power and more maturity than an 18-year-old should be expected to have.
