Ronny Cruz Is Transforming As A Hitter in High-A Wilmington

After an explosive April in which Ronny Cruz posted a 184 wRC+ in 14 games at Low A, leading to a quick promotion to High A and appearances on many top 100 prospects lists, Cruz suffered a stretch of months where he was unable to string together much offensive success at his new level. Whiff and plate discipline issues, which had been present but not obstacles, at Low A, were now limiting his ability to tap into his raw power at High A. He dropped off some top 100 prospects lists and faded from the spotlight of the Nats farm system.

Then, as quickly as he had gone cold after tearing up Low A, Cruz has caught fire once again in August, with 3 home runs and a .410 wOBA on the month, good for the 89th percentile among all High A hitters. He is striking out just 10% of the time and walking 14% of the time, his best BB/K ratio in any month this season. Most importantly, the whiff and plate discipline numbers look better than ever under the hood, with a 71st percentile chase rate and 70th percentile whiff rate in August.

While the results have finally shown up this month for Cruz at High A, the improvements have been showing up more and more every month. In April and May, Cruz had a 37.2% whiff rate and 48.4% chase rate at High A, in the 15th and 2nd percentile, respectively. In June and July he improved, with a 32.5% whiff rate and 31.1% chase rate, 31st and 30th percentile respectively, but the results weren’t showing up quite yet, as he still posted just a .285 wOBA in those months.

In August, he made his biggest strides, with a 24.7% whiff rate and 23.5% chase rate, 0th and 71st percentile respectively, and the results have finally began to appear, as he’s been able to work more counts, draw more walks, and force pitchers to give him pitches he can drive with power. Overall, Cruz still has a 76 wRC+ at High A on the season, but his 146 wRC+ in August, paired with much improved under the hood metrics, all point towards that number skyrocketing soon.

The Nats were quick to promote the 19-year-old Cruz to High A despite just a little over 2 weeks worth of games at Low A in 2026. There was a learning curve for the young shortstop at the new level, but he’s appeared to have made a breakthrough in the last few weeks that is allowing him to neutralize his weaknesses and tap more into his strengths. He has firmly cemented himself near the top of the Nationals farm system for me, and his ceiling is likely as high as anyones in the entire system.