Tigers Minor League Baseball Blog

The Tigers number five prospect is Eulogio De la Cruz and he was also across the board amongst the three lists.  John Sickels rated him highest at third but he also finished as low as ninth on Kevin Goldstein’s list (you can find the lists on the left sidebar).  A seventh place finish with Baseball America put him just one point ahead of Jordan Tata and Brent Clevlen.

De la Cruz was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2001 and he made his minor league debut in 2003 in the Gulf Coast League.  He had a solid if erratic showing and he struck out 30 in only 24 1/3 innings before heading to a very short (3 1/3 relief innings) stint at Oneonta.  Walks were a problem and he walked 16 in 27 2/3 total minor league innings in 2003.  In 2004 he got bumped up to West Michigan where once again he struggled with his walks.  He issued 33 free passes versus 44 strikeouts in 54 innings as the Whitecaps closer and he picked up 17 saves along the way.

In 2005, he made some major strides and even got some time in the rotation.  At Lakeland, he struck out 97 and only walked 36 in 95 2/3 innings.  He got into one game in at Erie but he was pummelled and once again reverted to his walking ways (four walks in 1 2/3 innings).  In 2006 he debuted at Erie and regressed just a bit.  His strikeout rate went down and his walk rate went up but he was solid enough to warrant getting into one game at Toledo, where like his other short stints, he got shelled.

De la Cruz is an interesting prospect though because he’s moved up the minor league ladder very methodically.  He should start the season at Toledo this year and if he pans out, you could see him in the Tigers pen next year.  Also keep in mind he doesn’t turn 23 until March 12 and the kid can touch 100 mph on the gun so at best he could be the second coming of Joel Zumaya and at worst he’s probably going to be a 12th or 13th pitcher on the team who sees time only when someone else goes down.  Once again, I kind of wish he were a left hander because if he were, you’d be hearing more about him.