Commentary

BP Daily: Maintaining power

We'll see if unlikely power sources, like Nelson Cruz, can keep up the pace

Originally Published: June 9, 2009
By Marc Normandin | Baseball Prospectus

We already took a look at some sluggers who have been struggling to get things together during the first third of the season, so now it's time to take a look at the other end of the spectrum. Some unexpected power sources have emerged during the first two months. As a fantasy owner, you need to figure out which players will maintain their pace and which guys you'll need to trade immediately before reality hits them harder than an errant David Price fastball. This is not the first time we've seen power (or the potential for power) from all these players, but each of them are playing at a higher level than expected.

• People have been waiting for the Texas Rangers' Nelson Cruz to turn into an excellent hitter for a few years now, but he finally seems to have broken through. The 28-year-old had just one impressive partial season on his major league resume prior to this year. In 2008, he hit .330/.421/.609 on 133 plate appearances. Given his minor league numbers (.352/.428/.698 in 2007 and a very similar line in 2008), it was possible that he finally turned a corner, but considering he also hit .231/.282/.385 in his previous 442 MLB at-bats, any doubts were justified.


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