Fantasy Sports Fantasy Baseball

2015 Fantasy Baseball: Nelson Cruz Will Fall Off With Seattle Mariners

Fresh Videos

By @adammcgill83twitter.com

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

One of the biggest surprises of the 2014 fantasy baseball season was the performance of Baltimore Orioles OF Nelson Cruz. Cruz was first in the majors last season with 40 home runs. He also finished fourth with 108 RBIs and fifth with a .525 Slugging Percentage.

After his career season, he cashed in with a big contract this week with the Seattle Mariners. The team hopes they found the cure for their lackluster outfielder, but there are signs that the vet will have  serious regression in fantasy stats in 2015.

For starters, Cruz didn’t have nearly as strong of a second half. He slugged a shocking 28 home runs and 74 RBIs in the first half of the season. He also had a .287 batting average and a .570 Slugging Percentage.

After the turn, though, the super-veteran hit a meager 12 homers with 34 RBIs. He also posted a meager .249 batting average and .463 Slugging Percentage. It was literally the tale of two halves for the slugger and it will certainly be concerning for the soon-tobe 35-year-old.

It may appear as if it is easier to hit home runs in Seattle in Baltimore, as hitters hit only 0.936 home runs per game at Camden Yard last season as opposed to 1.053 home runs per game at Safeco Field, but that short porch right field with the O’s was perfect for Cruz. After all, stats can occasionally be misleading.

Much like 2B Robinson Cano found out after moving to Seattle from the New York Yankees, home runs are much harder to come by in Seattle. Cano hit 27 home runs and drove in 107 RBIs in 160 games in the Bronx, but he managed to hit just 14 home runs and 82 RBIs last year. It stands to reason that Cruz will suffer a similar downtick in fantasy numbers across the board.

Cruz will have a big drop-off in fantasy value this season with the move to the west coast. He will likely still find a way to hit between 25-30 home runs, but I think another 40-home run season will be almost impossible to replicate in 2015.

 

Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.

Share Tweet
Trending Now on