Biggest Dud:
Nelson Cruz
I’m sure that picking a 40 home run guy for two straight seasons as the biggest dud will not sit well with most baseball fans, but oh well, I’m going there.
Cruz took a one-year deal in the 2014 season with the Baltimore Orioles because no one wanted anything to do with the steroid case. He took that opportunity and did not squander it smacking 40 home runs, with 34 XBH, and 108 RBIs. He took that offensive success and turned it into a four-year $57 million payday with the Seattle Mariners.
In his first season with his new team he bested 2014 and hit 44 homers, but saw a dip in RBIs with 93. Even though the RBIs took a slight hit, he made up for it by having a .302 batting average; raising it .031 points from the prior season.
All of that seems to point at yet another season that should mirror the two before, but Cruz will be entering his age 36 season and regression is becoming unavoidable. Safeco being a pitcher’s park will be a huge part of his decline, but as cbssports.com wrote; his hard contact rate is not very high and is destined to fade even further.
Maybe Cruz makes me eat my words and proves me wrong, but as of now he is my choice for fantasy player to let down league managers this season.
