Indians Top 50: #11 Kelvin De La Cruz

Kelvin De La Cruz - Left-handed Pitcher
Born: 08/01/1988 - Height: 6'5" - Weight: 187 - Bats: Left - Throws: Left

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2005	17	DSL Indians	R	3	3	2.36	13	12	53.1	49	14	3	16	39	.234	2.7	6.6	1.22
2006	18	GCL Indians	R	1	2	10.98	9	4	19.2	32	24	2	13	15	.360	6.1	7.0	2.34
2007	19	GCL Indians	R	3	0	0.50	3	3	18.0	7	1	1	2	20	.117	1.0	10.0	0.50
2007	19	Mahoning Vy	A-	2	4	3.98	12	12	54.1	41	24	5	34	53	.216	5.7	8.8	1.39
2008	20	Akron	AA	1	0	7.20	1	1	5.0	4	4	1	3	4	.222	5.4	7.2	1.40
2008	20	Lake County	A	8	4	1.69	18	18	95.2	71	18	2	34	96	.207	3.2	9.1	1.10
2008	20	Kinston	A+	3	2	6.44	8	8	29.1	35	21	1	25	36	.292	7.7	11.1	2.06
2009	21	Kinston	A+	2	0	1.50	2	2	12.0	6	2	1	2	19	.146	1.5	14.3	0.67
2009	21	AZL Indians	R	0	2	9.39	3	3	7.2	10	8	1	5	5	.323	6.3	6.3	2.08
		Totals		23	17	3.54	69	63	295.0	255	116	17	134	287	.232	4.1	8.8	1.32

History: De La Cruz was signed by the Indians as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in December of 2004.  He is often referred to as "Carmona Left" because of his close resemblance to current Indians right-handed starting pitcher Fausto Carmona not only in look, but also his skills, pitching repertoire, makeup and more.  He is also very good friends with Carmona and often asks him for insight into the professional game and lifestyle.  He was added to the Indians big league 40-man roster this past offseason.

Strengths & Opportunities: De La Cruz is a high ceiling left-handed starting pitcher who oozes confidence and just loves to compete.  He is the complete package as he is left-handed, has a good power fastball, and two plus secondary pitches in a curveball and changeup.  He pitches with his fastball and has a good feel for his curveball and changeup, and shows an ability to throw all three in the zone.  He continues to show much improved arm strength as his fastball velocity jumped from 84-86 MPH in 2006 to where it currently sits at 91-93 MPH and has touched 95 MPH.  It is believed there is even more arm strength in there as he is still young and getting bigger and stronger, so his fastball velocity in the next year or two could increase if he can stay healthy.  He gets good sink with his fastball and pounds it down in the zone.  His curveball is a 12-6 hammer and a projectable plus-plus pitch with real good depth and a swing and miss put away type pitch that is of major league weapon quality.  He has a good feel for his changeup, and while it is clearly behind his fastball and curveball, it projects to be a plus pitch for him down the road.

De La Cruz is still very young, and because of his big frame and stuff, there is still no limit to his potential.  At 6'5" he gets good leverage on hitters by using his height to get the ball on a downward plane.  He shows a no fear aggressive approach on the mound where he challenges hitters and pounds the strike zone.  He is an intelligent pitcher who understands how to attack hitters and stick to his strengths.  Even for his size, he displays very good athleticism and fields his position well by handling all the bunts and comebackers, and even while shagging during batting practice he shows off his athleticism by running down balls in the outfield.  Aside from an elbow injury last year, he has been healthy his entire five year professional career and been very durable.  He has good attention to detail, and is a student of the game.  He is also very passionate about baseball and is doing a good job making the cultural transition to the United States from the Dominican Republic. He has excellent makeup, speaks good English, and just loves the game.

One of the biggest blows to the Indians farm system last season was when he went down with a serious elbow injury in the first month of the season.  He was off to a great start for High-A Kinston where in two starts he was 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA (12.0 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 19 K) and had just been named Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for his efforts in his first two starts.  During that second start he started to feel some discomfort in his elbow and it increased a lot over the coming days to where he had to eventually be shut down for most of the rest of the season with a UCL strain of his left elbow.  There was no tear so he avoided serious surgery and eventually did make his way back to pitch some games on a rehab assignment with the Arizona League Indians at the end of August, but was a long way from the pitcher he was pre-injury.  He participated in Instructional League to make up some of the lost development time, and he slowly showed signs of putting things back together as his velocity was up to 92 MPH and his feel for pitching started to return.

The key to De La Cruz's success in the early going in his return trip to Kinston last year was much improved command and a sharpened curveball that showed more depth. It is a pitch he really worked on last offseason, and one of the main mechanical adjustments for it was just getting him to be cognizant of not allowing his arm slot to get too high and also finishing the pitch. His preparation also improved, and it looked like he was about to take a leap forward in his already high prospect standing with a great season until the elbow injury occurred.

De La Cruz still has a ways to go as a prospect, but has greatness in his future if he can maintain health.  He is still young and coming off of an elbow injury, so his fastball command is still not all there.  It takes awhile for a pitcher coming off a serious elbow injury to get his stuff back to where it was, and that is what he worked his way through at the end of last season and in the offseason.  A big focus this coming season will be to hone in on the fastball command to cut down on some of the walks but also be on the plate more and throw strikes more consistently.  By refining the command of his fastball it will allow him to use his secondary stuff more effectively and set up hitters to get themselves out.  He has gotten better at controlling his emotions on the mound when things do not go his way, though he still needs more improvement in not letting the results that happen behind him affect his performance.  He also needs more work on being more consistent with repeating his delivery.

Outlook:  De La Cruz is a very good talent and if not for the injury to his left elbow last year may have been off to a breakout season where he may have solidified himself as the Indians top pitching prospect and one of the best in all of baseball.  He still has a promising future because he is young, strong and powerful, though the recent elbow injury clouds it some.  This coming season he will pitch at age 21, not age 22 like so many have been mislead to believe.  He would probably be received a lot better by scouts from other organizations and media outlets if they realized he was actually born on August 1, 1988 (08/01/1988) and not the incorrect date of January 8, 1988 (01/08/1988) which is a typo listed in every non-Indians publication that lists his vitals.  That one year in age makes a big difference in his value, especially when he is expected to pitch at Double-A this year at age 21.  He should open the 2010 season in the starting rotation at Double-A Akron.

Photo courtesy of Tony Lastoria

Kelvin De La Cruz MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

Kelvin De La Cruz Baseball-Reference page

Kelvin De La Cruz MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Kelvin De La Cruz Pitching:

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