Key Stats: Nelson Cruz reduced his strikeout rate by more than 5% from 2009 to 2010. His walk rate did go down as well, but only by 1%. This helped bring his OBP up by 42 points. Surprisingly though, Cruz scored more runs per plate appearance in 2009 than he did in 2010 (one run every 6.87 plate appearances vs. one run every 7.42 plate appearances). If you are looking for a reason for his rating last season or some flaw in his numbers, it's that. Cruz hit in a more favorable part of the order more often, and in a better lineup last year than he did in 2009.
Skeptics Say: Cruz has never played in more than 130 games and was on the DL three separate times last year. He's been working on a new running style that puts less stress on his legs this offseason, but when a player is running to beat an infield hit, chase a fly ball, steal a base, etc. it is a very difficult thing to teach them to run a different way rather than letting their instincts take over. And there's no assurance that it will work.
Cruz's BABIP also shot up 70 points from last season. One would think that has to come down as well as his .318 overall average.
Projection: If you are looking for instant gratification, Cruz has been really good in April and May each of the last two seasons.
82 R 28 HR 94 RBI 14 SB .290 AVG .880 OPS