Is Nelson Cruz becoming a hole in the Baltimore Orioles lineup?

Jun 7, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles right fielder Nelson Cruz (23) doubles in the seventh inning against the Oakland Athletics at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles defeated the Athletics 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

After the beginning of the season that Nelson Cruz put up for the Baltimore Orioles, it may seem preposterous to ask the question if he is becoming a hole in the batting order for the O’s. But there has been a definitive drop-off in production in recent weeks.

Cruz has gone 12 games without a home run, while batting for an average of .136; and he has not even had one RBI in his past 39 at-bats.

100 games into the season, Cruz is hitting .276, which is seven points above his career average of .269.

The following chart breaks down the first 100 games of the Orioles’ season into 25-game segments. And it is easy to see how Nelson Cruz has dropped off in the past 25 games. Before that, his stats were rather consistent.

Games	AB	Hits	Avg	RBI	2B	HR	SO
1-25	92	26	.283	25	5	7	23
26-50	98	31	.316	21	7	10	24
51-75	91	26	.286	14	2	6	21
76-100	99	22	.222	14	4	5	19
1-100	380	105	.276	74	18	28	87

Honestly, before researching this and putting the chart together, I would have expected to see that Cruz has struck out more in the most recent quarter than in any before it. Yet it is in fact the least. However, the recent strikeouts stand out more because so many of them are chasing low and away breaking balls. Adam Jones has always been a sucker for this pitch, but Cruz’ tendency to chase them here of late makes Jonesy look like a highly-disciplined hitter. Even when Cruz is making some contact, he is pulling the outside pitch into easy ground-outs or lamely popping it to the right side.

As well, compared to the beginning of the season, Cruz’ swing has become longer. He has been lacking the quick, short stroke that drove the ball at a high velocity.

Looking over his career stats, Cruz will certainly surpass his highest home run number of 33, and he’ll likely get beyond 90 RBIs. He will not, however, get near his high in doubles at 45.

Having said all of that, it is interesting to see that this is only the second season of his career that he is playing almost every day. He has only missed one of the Orioles’ games this year. In 2012 he played in 159 games. Prior to that his best was only 128 games in 2009.