His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Cruz's 4-seam fastball averages 98.5 mph, and has touched 101.5.
523 thrown, 56.2% of his pitches.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Cruz goes to the slider: 29% of his two-strike pitches, against 6.9% the rest of the time.
290 two-strike pitches in 2026.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Cruz releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 15 degrees above horizontal and 2.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
930 tracked release points, averaging 5.4 feet off the ground.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Cruz averages 94.1 mph across his arsenal, 96th percentile in the league.
172 pitches in 2026. 96th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 25th in MLB.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Cruz's slider leaves the bat at 91.9 mph, against 82.4 off his cutter.
128 and 279 of them thrown.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Cruz throws a fastball 96.4% of the time, against 73.8% when he is ahead.
225 pitches behind in the count, 320 ahead.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Cruz's 4-seam fastball carries 13.9 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
523 thrown, averaging 98.5 mph.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 26.1% of the contact Cruz gives up is hit hard, 94th percentile.
172 pitches in 2026. 94th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 33rd in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Cruz is weak: 84.1 mph off the bat on average, 92nd percentile.
172 pitches in 2026. 92nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 42nd in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Cruz works with 3 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Cutter and Slider. The 4-seam fastball is 56.2% of everything he throws.
930 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Cruz's 4-seam fastball moves 10.9 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
523 thrown, averaging 98.5 mph.
He leaves too much of it over the heart of the plate
22.4% of Cruz's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, the part of the plate hitters do their damage on.
208 of 930 located pitches.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Cruz throws a strike on the first pitch 63.5% of the time.
244 plate appearances started in 2026.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Cruz works off the plate, with only 41.9% of his pitches in the zone, 37th percentile.
172 pitches in 2026. 37th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 338th in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Cruz throws the cutter 33.8% of the time against left-handers and 24.3% against right-handers.
374 pitches to right-handers, 556 to left-handers.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Cruz releases the ball 6.6 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
897 tracked pitches in 2026.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Cruz's stuff spins at 2,197 rpm, 37th percentile in the league.
172 pitches in 2026. 37th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 341st in MLB.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Cruz projects a .311 average, 63rd percentile.
172 pitches in 2026. 63rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 200th in MLB.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.3 mph separates Cruz's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 98.5 against 89.2.
523 and 128 of them respectively.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Cruz's 4-seam fastball averages 98.5 mph, and has touched 101.5.
523 thrown, 56.2% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Cruz's slider leaves the bat at 91.9 mph, against 82.4 off his cutter.
128 and 279 of them thrown.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Cruz works with 3 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Cutter and Slider. The 4-seam fastball is 56.2% of everything he throws.
930 classified pitches in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Cruz throws the cutter 33.8% of the time against left-handers and 24.3% against right-handers.
374 pitches to right-handers, 556 to left-handers.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.3 mph separates Cruz's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 98.5 against 89.2.
523 and 128 of them respectively.
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 slider: 29% of his two-strike pitches, against 6.9% the rest of the time.
290 two-strike pitches in 2026.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Cruz throws a fastball 96.4% of the time, against 73.8% when he is ahead.
225 pitches behind in the count, 320 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Cruz throws a strike on the first pitch 63.5% of the time.
244 plate appearances started in 2026.
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 sidearm slot, about 15 degrees above horizontal and 2.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
930 tracked release points, averaging 5.4 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Cruz releases the ball 6.6 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
897 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Cruz averages 94.1 mph across his arsenal, 96th percentile in the league.
172 pitches in 2026. 96th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 25th in MLB.
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 13.9 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
523 thrown, averaging 98.5 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Cruz's 4-seam fastball moves 10.9 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
523 thrown, averaging 98.5 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 26.1% of the contact Cruz gives up is hit hard, 94th percentile.
172 pitches in 2026. 94th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 33rd in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Cruz is weak: 84.1 mph off the bat on average, 92nd percentile.
172 pitches in 2026. 92nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 42nd in MLB.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Cruz projects a .311 average, 63rd percentile.
172 pitches in 2026. 63rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 200th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He leaves too much of it over the heart of the plate
22.4% of Cruz's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, the part of the plate hitters do their damage on.
208 of 930 located pitches.
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 41.9% of his pitches in the zone, 37th percentile.
172 pitches in 2026. 37th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 338th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Cruz's stuff spins at 2,197 rpm, 37th percentile in the league.
172 pitches in 2026. 37th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 341st in MLB.
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