Fernando Cruz

Fernando Cruz

35-Year-Old PitcherRP
New York Yankees
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Cruz was one of Cincinnati's highest leverage relievers over the past two seasons, accumulating a 4.88 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 207:63 K:BB over 132.2 innings with the Reds. However, a trade to the Yankees likely bumps him down to a lower leverage middle relief role for 2025. The 34-year-old righty continues to rack up a ton of strikeouts (109 in 2024) with one of the filthiest splitters (.116 BAA, .149 SLG, 59.3 percent whiff) in the league, but his secondary offerings get crushed and his 11.4 percent career walk rate cannot be ignored. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#371
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Yankees in March of 2025.
Activated from injured list
PNew York Yankees
June 3, 2025
The Yankees activated Cruz (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
Cruz was sidelined for the past two weeks with right shoulder inflammation. He'll skip a rehab assignment and go right back into a Yankees bullpen that just lost Luke Weaver (hamstring).
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Pitching Stats
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2025
2024
2023
2022
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2024 MLB Game Log
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2023 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
18
Last 10 Games
18
Last 5 Games
19
How many pitches does Fernando Cruz generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Fernando Cruz generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-22%
BAA vs RHP
2025
 
 
-1%
BAA vs LHP
2024
 
 
-31%
BAA vs RHP
2023
 
 
-15%
BAA vs RHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2023vs Left .239 289 97 39 59 13 3 9
Since 2023vs Right .187 371 145 32 62 18 1 8
2025vs Left .182 37 13 3 6 2 0 0
2025vs Right .184 56 22 5 9 1 0 2
2024vs Left .264 124 41 18 28 7 1 6
2024vs Right .181 164 68 17 26 7 0 3
2023vs Left .231 128 43 18 25 4 2 3
2023vs Right .196 151 55 10 27 10 1 3
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-8%
ERA on Road
2025
 
 
-87%
ERA at Home
2024
 
 
-24%
ERA on Road
2023
 
 
-25%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2023Home 4.74 1.25 81.2 3 7 1 15.1 4.4 1.1
Since 2023Away 4.34 1.21 74.2 2 5 1 12.7 3.7 0.8
2025Home 0.68 0.98 13.1 1 1 1 10.8 3.4 0.0
2025Away 5.23 0.97 10.1 0 1 1 16.5 2.6 1.7
2024Home 5.45 1.32 36.1 1 4 0 16.6 4.5 1.7
2024Away 4.15 1.35 30.1 2 4 0 12.5 5.0 0.6
2023Home 5.63 1.28 32.0 1 2 0 15.2 4.8 0.8
2023Away 4.24 1.15 34.0 0 0 0 11.6 2.9 0.8
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Fernando Cruz compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
4.38
 
K/9
13.3
 
BB/9
3.0
 
HR/9
0.8
 
Fastball
93.5 mph
 
ERA
2.66
 
WHIP
0.97
 
BABIP
.291
 
GB/FB
0.89
 
Left On Base
69.3%
 
Exit Velocity
80.6 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
3.6%
 
Spin Rate
1392 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
26.2%
 
Swinging Strike
19.5%
 
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Fernando Cruz See More
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33 days ago
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34 days ago
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38 days ago
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38 days ago
Check out the top AL fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and FAAB targets for this week. Get expert advice to stay ahead in your fantasy baseball league.
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41 days ago
Brad Johnson covers early-in-the-season standout fantasy baseball pitchers, featuring Nick Lodolo, Tyler Mahle and more.
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Cruz, who was drafted by the Royals as an infielder in 2007, transitioned to a full-time pitching role in 2011. He'd spend the next decade bouncing around between the minors, independent ranks and foreign leagues before getting his first big league promotion during the 2022 season at age 32. He broke camp with the Reds last season and threw one of the best splitters in baseball, with the 3rd-highest whiff percentage for that pitch type (56.7%) and 2nd-highest Statcast Run Value (11). Cruz finished 2 strikeouts shy of 100 across his 66 innings, and while his 4.91 ERA wasn't great, his 2.83 FIP suggests there is room for improvement in that category. His 2.07 ERA-minus-FIP was 2nd-highest among relief pitchers, while his 23.5% K-BB percentage ranked 16th. Those looking for strikeout upside in the late stages of drafts might consider clicking Cruz's name, but don't expect a ton of high leverage opportunities or save chances.
More Fantasy News
Expected back Tuesday
PNew York Yankees
Shoulder
June 2, 2025
Cruz (shoulder) is expected to be activated from the 15-day injured list Tuesday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
ANALYSIS
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Throws another bullpen session
PNew York Yankees
Shoulder
May 31, 2025
Cruz (shoulder) threw a bullpen session Saturday, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.
ANALYSIS
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Throws bullpen session
PNew York Yankees
Shoulder
May 28, 2025
Cruz (shoulder) threw a 20-pitch bullpen session Wednesday, Meredith Marakovits of YES Network reports.
ANALYSIS
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Placed on 15-day injured list
PNew York Yankees
Shoulder
May 22, 2025
The Yankees placed Cruz on the 15-day injured list Thursday with right shoulder inflammation.
ANALYSIS
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MRI comes back negative
PNew York Yankees
Shoulder
May 22, 2025
Cruz will play catch Thursday after an MRI on his right shoulder came back negative, Meredith Marakovits of YES Network reports.
ANALYSIS
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