This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Cruz goes to the splitter: 85.1% of his two-strike pitches, against 40% the rest of the time.
87 two-strike pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Cruz's 4-seam fastball carries 17.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
100 thrown, averaging 93.1 mph.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Cruz averages 84.8 mph across his arsenal, 5th percentile in the league.
317 pitches in 2026. 5th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 512th in MLB.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Cruz's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 91.6 mph, against 75.8 off his splitter.
100 and 166 of them thrown.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Cruz lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.82 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
315 located pitches in 2026.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Cruz throws a fastball 63.7% of the time, against 6.7% when he is ahead.
102 pitches behind in the count, 89 ahead.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Cruz lands 54.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 27.9% of his offspeed pitches.
109 of his fastballs, 166 of his offspeed pitches.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Cruz's stuff spins at 1,494 rpm, 0th percentile in the league.
317 pitches in 2026. 0th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 535th in MLB.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Cruz works off the plate, with only 39.4% of his pitches in the zone, 17th percentile.
317 pitches in 2026. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 446th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 26.8% of the contact Cruz gives up is hit hard, 93rd percentile.
317 pitches in 2026. 93rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 40th in MLB.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Cruz throws 35.6% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 41.6% with the bases empty.
118 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 199 with the bases empty.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Cruz works with 3 pitches: Splitter, 4-Seam Fastball and Slider. The splitter is 52.4% of everything he throws.
317 classified pitches in 2026.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Cruz puts 37.4% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 42.1% of his pitches to left-handers.
183 pitches to right-handed hitters, 134 to left-handed hitters.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Cruz is weak: 84.3 mph off the bat on average, 91st percentile.
317 pitches in 2026. 91st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 48th in MLB.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Cruz releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 38 degrees above horizontal and 2.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
315 tracked release points, averaging 5.9 feet off the ground.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
14.9% of Cruz's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
47 of 315 located pitches.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .348 expected average against them, against .291 on his offspeed pitches.
109 of his fastballs thrown.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Cruz's slider moves 11.9 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
42 thrown, averaging 82.2 mph.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
13.1 mph separates Cruz's 4-seam fastball from his splitter, 93.1 against 80.0.
100 and 166 of them respectively.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Cruz releases the ball 6.8 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
234 tracked pitches in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Cruz throws the slider 19.7% of the time against right-handers and 4.5% against left-handers.
183 pitches to right-handers, 134 to left-handers.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Cruz puts 53.5% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39.8% when he is ahead.
101 located pitches behind, 88 ahead.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Cruz's slider spins at 2,515 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
42 thrown in 2026.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Cruz throws a strike on the first pitch 57% of the time.
79 plate appearances started in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Cruz's 4-seam fastball averages 93.1 mph, and has touched 94.8.
100 thrown, 31.5% of his pitches.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Cruz has thrown 9 sinkers this season, 2.8% of his pitches, at 92.4 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
317 classified pitches in 2026.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Cruz goes to the splitter: 85.1% of his two-strike pitches, against 40% the rest of the time.
87 two-strike pitches in 2026.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Cruz throws a fastball 63.7% of the time, against 6.7% when he is ahead.
102 pitches behind in the count, 89 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Cruz puts 53.5% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39.8% when he is ahead.
101 located pitches behind, 88 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Cruz throws a strike on the first pitch 57% of the time.
79 plate appearances started in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Cruz's 4-seam fastball carries 17.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
100 thrown, averaging 93.1 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Cruz's slider moves 11.9 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
42 thrown, averaging 82.2 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Cruz averages 84.8 mph across his arsenal, 5th percentile in the league.
317 pitches in 2026. 5th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 512th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Cruz's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 91.6 mph, against 75.8 off his splitter.
100 and 166 of them thrown.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Cruz works with 3 pitches: Splitter, 4-Seam Fastball and Slider. The splitter is 52.4% of everything he throws.
317 classified pitches in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
13.1 mph separates Cruz's 4-seam fastball from his splitter, 93.1 against 80.0.
100 and 166 of them respectively.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Cruz throws the slider 19.7% of the time against right-handers and 4.5% against left-handers.
183 pitches to right-handers, 134 to left-handers.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Cruz's slider spins at 2,515 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
42 thrown in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Cruz's 4-seam fastball averages 93.1 mph, and has touched 94.8.
100 thrown, 31.5% of his pitches.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Cruz has thrown 9 sinkers this season, 2.8% of his pitches, at 92.4 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
317 classified pitches in 2026.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Cruz lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.82 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
315 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
14.9% of Cruz's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
47 of 315 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Cruz lands 54.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 27.9% of his offspeed pitches.
109 of his fastballs, 166 of his offspeed pitches.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .348 expected average against them, against .291 on his offspeed pitches.
109 of his fastballs thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Cruz's stuff spins at 1,494 rpm, 0th percentile in the league.
317 pitches in 2026. 0th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 535th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Cruz works off the plate, with only 39.4% of his pitches in the zone, 17th percentile.
317 pitches in 2026. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 446th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 26.8% of the contact Cruz gives up is hit hard, 93rd percentile.
317 pitches in 2026. 93rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 40th in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Cruz is weak: 84.3 mph off the bat on average, 91st percentile.
317 pitches in 2026. 91st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 48th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Cruz throws 35.6% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 41.6% with the bases empty.
118 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 199 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Cruz puts 37.4% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 42.1% of his pitches to left-handers.
183 pitches to right-handed hitters, 134 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Cruz releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 38 degrees above horizontal and 2.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
315 tracked release points, averaging 5.9 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Cruz releases the ball 6.8 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
234 tracked pitches in 2026.
Reds
Career team 2022–2024