Bryan

De La Cruz

De La Cruz supplied the lone runs for either side in a low-scoring Wednesday afternoon matinee at Comerica Park courtesy of a gargantuan 422-foot blast to left-center field off Tigers starter Casey Mize in the opening frame. It was his lone hit in four at-bats and his ninth round-tripper of the season. The 27-year-old corner outfielder has put together a nice breakthrough campaign so far for the struggling Marlins, batting .256 (46-for-180) with 25 runs scored, nine homers, 24 RBI and one steal through 45 contests.

De La Cruz knocked a base hit in the fourth inning, then took Dany Jiménez deep for a two-run homer in the eighth. It wouldn’t be nearly enough in Miami’s blowout loss. The 27-year-old outfielder has been one of the team’s only bright spots, hitting .262/.305/.447 with six homers and 18 RBI across 151 plate appearances.

De La Cruz took Cubs closer Adbert Alzolay deep with a 397-foot blast with one out in the ninth inning to cap off Miami’s comeback effort in the opening contest of Saturday’s twin bill at Wrigley Field. It was his fifth round-tripper of the season. He also picked up an additional RBI in this one on a fifth-inning sacrifice fly.

De La Cruz got the Marlins on the board in the fourth inning on Friday, crushing a 380-foot homer to center off of right-hander Jameson Taillon. All that did was put a Band-Aid on a stab wound though, pulling the Marlins to within six runs at 7-1. The 27-year-old outfielder finished the day 1-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. For the season, he’s now hitting .286/.294/.476 with four long balls and 11 RBI.

De La Cruz had two of Miami’s total six hits in this contest. His homer came in the sixth inning off Keaton Winn who threw a pretty decent slider, but De La Cruz was able to get enough on it and got it over the right field wall. The 27-year-old outfielder has had a decent stretch with three multi-hit games in his past five games and has recorded a hit in six straight games. He’s struck out on 25% of his at-bats, which isn’t great, but when he’s making contact he’s making it count with his three homers and 10 RBI in his first 19 games of the season.

The double was crushed 108.7 mph off the bat for an RBI. He also later stole third base for his first steal of the season. De La Cruz continues to hit in the middle of the order against right-handed pitchers and is slashing .276/.286/.408 on the season with two home runs and nine RBI. He’s also being far more aggressive in the zone, which has come with a 13 percent barrel rate but an over 17 percent swinging strike rate. That’s pretty boom or bust.

De La Cruz gave the Marlins a 5-0 lead with his three-run double off Chris Sale in the fifth inning. The outfielder also singled, and it ups his slash to .270/.281/.349. The lack of patience can be frustrating, but De La Cruz makes enough hard contact to go on some impressive streaks. Maybe this is the start of one of them.

If the Marlins weren’t so cheap, they likely would have tried to upgrade their outfield over the winter. Fortunately for De La Cruz, that never materialized, leaving him as the likely regular in left field in spite of his mediocre offense and very disappointing defense. He still might have a little fantasy upside, but that the offense around him is pretty bad hurts the cause.

De La Cruz is back in right field and hitting fifth in his return to Miami’s lineup following a three-game absence due to right ankle discomfort.

De La Cruz remains sidelined after sitting out a pair of contests over the weekend following his early removal from Friday’s game against the Braves with right ankle discomfort. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for the moment.