Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Sleeper hitters for Week 10 (May 29-June 4)
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No team has more favorable hitter matchups than the Marlins this week, who are going up against pitchers like Ryan Weathers, Hogan Harris, Luis Medina and Paul Blackburn. So it stands to reason that Bryan De La Cruz, who has hit .396 (21 for 53) with three homers in his past 12 games, will keep rolling.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Smacks sixth homer of season
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De La Cruz went 4-for-5 with a two-run homer run and three runs scored in Friday's victory over the Angels.
This was De La Cruz's second four-hit game of the week. The outfielder also has hits in 18 of 22 games so far this month, inflating his batting average to a healthy .305 mark. The 26-year-old is red-hot at the moment, and a viable option in nearly all formats.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Four hits in loss
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De La Cruz went 4-for-4 with two runs scored in Monday's 5-3 loss to the Rockies.
De La Cruz was solid, helping the Marlins outhit the Rockies 11-7, but his strong game wasn't enough. All four of his hits were singles, raising his batting average to .302 with five home runs, two stolen bases, 18 RBI and 19 runs scored through 44 games on the year. He's hitting .447 (17-for-38) over his last 10 contests.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Possible waiver wire pickups
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De La Cruz got some sleeper buzz this offseason thanks to a strong September and some surprisingly good Statcast numbers, including a 96th percentile xBA (.287) and 94th percentile xSLG (.498). A poor spring compromised his job security, upending his sleeper status, but he's back to playing every day and seems to have found a groove again in May, batting .328 (21 for 64) with three homers and a .905 OPS. The season-long strikeout rate is concerning, but he's brought it down below 25 percent for the month. He may not have earned a spot in points leagues yet, given the suspect plate discipline, but in leagues that value batting average (and certainly those that require five outfielders), De La Cruz deserves your attention again.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Sleeper hitters for Week 9 (May 22-28)
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Though Bryan De La Cruz's hard contact hasn't translated to as much production this year, he's picking up the pace, batting .433 (13 for 30) with three homers in his past eight games. It's just in time for a four-game series at Colorado and a seven-game week in which he'll be facing four lefties.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Crushes fifth homer
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De La Cruz went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer and three RBI in Friday's loss to San Francisco.
De La Cruz pulled an off-speed pitch low in the zone into the left field seats, driving in Miami's third and final run of the night. The outfielder is now on a seven-game hit streak, and he is slashing .357/.390/.607 this month. In fact, the red-hot 26-year-old has hits in 14 of 16 games since the start of May.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Swats homer in win
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De La Cruz went 1-for-4 with a solo homer and an additional run in a 5-3 victory over the Nationals on Thursday.
De La Cruz got Miami off to a positive start with a homer to center field in the second inning. The long ball extended his hitting streak to six games, during which he is slashing .455/.520/.909 with two homers, four doubles, five RBI and six runs. The hot streak has pushed De La Cruz's season slash line to a very respectable .287/.327/.434 through 153 plate appearances.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Gets Wednesday off
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De La Cruz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.
Peyton Burdick will receive a look in left field while De La Cruz takes a seat for the series finale. De La Cruz started in each of the Marlins' last six games and produced at least one hit in each of those contests.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Sitting out Wednesday
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De La Cruz is not in the Marlins' lineup for Wednesday's game versus Atlanta, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.
De La Cruz is in the midst of a deep slump, so he'll get a breather to regroup. Jesus Sanchez will cover left field.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Ties dubious club record
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De La Cruz has struck out 17 times since April 23, tying the Marlins' franchise record for a seven-game span set by Giancarlo Stanton, Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald reports.
De La Cruz saw his nine-game hitting streak end on the 23rd, a stretch in which he hit .432 (16-for-37), but since then he's been ice cold, batting .071 (2-for-28) with an incomprehensible 58.6 percent strikeout rate. The 26-year-old has remained a regular part of the lineup during his slump with Avisail Garcia (back) on the IL, but if De La Cruz can't turn things around soon, the Marlins may look elsewhere for corner outfield help.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Back in lineup versus lefty
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De La Cruz will start in left field and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Cubs, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.
Though he'll draw back into the lineup versus southpaw Justin Steele, the righty-hitting De La Cruz may be losing hold of a regular role in the corner outfield versus right-handed pitching. De La Cruz and Avisail Garcia have both sat twice in the Marlins' last four matchups versus right-handed pitching, with the lefty-hitting Jesus Sanchez starting at a corner spot in each of those contests.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Not starting Friday
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De La Cruz isn't staring Friday against the Cubs, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.
Currently in the midst of a 1-for-16 stretch at the plate over his last four games, De La Cruz will get a day off to reset. Jesus Sanchez will take his place in left field and bat seventh.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Possible waiver wire pickups
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If you started prepping for your draft in, say, February, you may remember Bryan De La Cruz had some early sleeper buzz after a hot September that left him with a better xBA (.287) and xSLG (.498) than Rafael Devers. Well, now he has a .287 xBA and .438 xSLG, which are pretty close. Shoot, his actual marks are .314 and .471. It took a big weekend to get him there -- one in which he went 5 for 11 with a home run and four doubles -- but the point is that those high Statcast marks last year don't appear to have been a fluke. De La Cruz lost his sleeper status this spring because the Marlins raised questions about his playing time, but now that he's started 14 straight, it's time to give him another look.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Huge day in twin bill
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De La Cruz went 5-for-8 with a walk, four doubles, a solo home run, a second run scored and a stolen base across both games of Saturday's doubleheader sweep of the Guardians.
The 26-year-old outfielder extended his hitting streak to nine games in spectacular fashion. After launching his second homer of the season off Shane Bieber in the sixth inning of the matinee, De La Cruz cranked out three doubles in the nightcap while also finding time for his first steal of 2023. His hot streak has sent his slash line on the season soaring to .328/.370/.493, and while De La Cruz's counting stats have been fairly modest -- seven runs and eight RBI in 19 games -- he's seized the starting left field job for the Marlins and worked his way into a consistent spot in the heart of the batting order.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Knocks in four
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De La Cruz went 2-for-2 with a three-run home run, two walks and an additional RBI in Sunday's 7-2 win over the Mets.
De La Cruz opened the scoring with a three-run blast in the first inning off Carlos Carrasco and added another RBI on a sacrifice fly in the seventh. The third-year outfielder had only four hits over his first 21 plate appearances, so Sunday's performance could get De La Cruz back on track after a slow start.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Remains out of lineup
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De La Cruz will take a seat Friday against the Mets.
De La Cruz will remain on the bench for the second straight game as the Marlins launch their series versus New York after Thursday's postponement. Jesus Sanchez will draw another start in left field and bat seventh in the series opener.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Heads to bench Wednesday
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De La Cruz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.
De La Cruz will sit for the third time in seven games this season, but he still appears to have the edge on Jesus Sanchez for the primary starting role in left field. Aside from a three-hit performance in Monday's 11-1 loss, however, De La Cruz has otherwise come up empty at the plate in his other three starts.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Three hits in Monday's loss
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De La Cruz went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Monday's loss to the Twins.
The 26-year-old was one of the few bright spots for the Marlins in an 11-1 rout. De La Cruz has started three of the team's first five games in left field, but Monday's knocks were his first of the year and he's struck out four times in 11 plate appearances. De La Cruz appears to be the preferred option in an outfield corner over Jesus Sanchez, but that could change quickly if he doesn't provide some consistent production.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Returns to lineup Monday
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De La Cruz is starting in left field and batting seventh for the Marlins in Monday's game versus the Twins, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports..
It's the third start for De La Cruz in his team's first five games, giving him a 3-2 edge over Jesus Sanchez. The 26-year-old is hitless in his first seven plate appearances with three strikeouts and no walks.
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Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Not in Sunday's lineup
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De La Cruz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.
De La Cruz is 0-for-7 with three strikeouts and will head to the bench for the second time through the first four contests of the season. Jesus Sanchez will start in left field and bat sixth Sunday.
