Monday, April 27

Amid the Nationals' prospect headliners like Eli Willits, Travis Sykora and Jarlin Susana, there was a name that came up repeatedly during Spring Training.

He is relatively new to the organization, acquired last year at the Trade Deadline in the Michael Soroka deal with the Cubs, yet he had made a strong impression in that short period of time. 

“Ronny Cruz, everybody keeps raving about,” assistant general manager Devin Pearson said toward the end of camp. “What he’s been able to do has been awesome. We’ve just got to keep building off of that.”

Cruz, the Nats’ No. 25 prospect, is living up to the Spring Training buzz this season. 

The 19-year-old shortstop was promoted from Single-A Fredericksburg to High-A Wilmington on Monday, and he’s already been mashing. In his first four games with the Blue Rocks, he went 7-for-19 with two home runs, five RBIs and a walk.

Entering Saturday, Cruz ranked atop Washington’s Minor League leaderboards: 

• First in: batting average (.343), home runs (5), RBIs (19) and total bases (45)

• Tied for first in: runs (20, tied with Nats’ No. 1/MLB No. 10 prospect Willits)

• Second in: slugging (.643, behind No. 20 prospect Yeremy Cabrera), OPS (1.089, behind Cabrera), OBP (.446, behind Cabrera) and stolen bases (15, behind Willits)

• Tied for second in: hits (24, tied with Cayden Wallace, behind No. 28 Yohandy Morales) 

• Fourth in: extra-base hits (10, behind No. 8 Luke Dickerson, Cabrera, Wallace) 

Cruz was a third-round pick by the Cubs in the 2024 Draft out of high school. He was playing Rookie level ball when he was traded to the Nationals, along with No. 18 prospect outfielder Christian Franklin. 

MLB Pipeline evaluated Cruz with the following scouting grades: hit (40), power (55), run (55), arm (60), field (55), overall (40).

“Cruz hits the ball really hard at good angles, [has a] plus range at shortstop,” Pearson said. “Needs to get stronger, needs to continue to prove his swing decisions.” 

Cruz was called up to appear in four Grapefruit League games with the Nationals. In addition to the two-run homer he hit off the Astros, manager Blake Butera enjoyed getting to know Cruz off the field. 

“He's a great kid,” Butera said at the time. “Always smiling, having fun, very loose. It looks like he is not putting a lot of pressure on himself and just playing baseball.”

The Nationals' second trip to Chicago in a month is meaningful for first-base coach Corey Ray. Growing up, the Simeon High School graduate participated in the Jackie Robinson West Little League and the White Sox Amateur City Elite (ACE) program.

Ray, who joined the Nationals coaching staff this season, met with 13U players from the ACE program on Friday to pay it forward. 

“I was there, I was those guys,” Ray, 31, told MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. “To come on a Major League field, look at a Major League practice, to be able to talk to a Major League coach and Major League players, it was something I remember going back to talking to Juan Pierre, and Scott Podsednik and Frank Thomas and those guys.

“A lot of what they told me held true and I still remember it today. So hopefully I can give these guys some gems that can help them become the best versions of themselves.”

Click here to read Merkin’s full story on Ray. 

After right-hander Riley Cornelio struggled in his Major League debut Friday night at Rate Field, Butera wanted to reiterate the organization’s confidence in him. 

Cornelio, a starter all of his career, threw two innings out of the bullpen in a one-run game against the White Sox. He allowed three runs (two earned) off two hits, four walks and one strikeout. Cornelio was assessed the loss. 

“It’s not an easy spot for him to come into there,” Butera told reporters in Chicago on Saturday. “We told him, there's nothing he did yesterday that makes us feel worse about Riley Cornelio. I told him he's gonna pitch in the big leagues for a long time. He's gonna help us sooner rather than later. And I think it’s a good experience for him to go through, whether he pitched well or didn't pitch well.” 

The Nationals optioned Cornelio to Triple-A Rochester after the game to call up infielder/designated hitter Andrés Chaparro on Saturday to face lefty starter Noah Schultz.

“I shot him a text as well to make sure he knows we’re in his corner, we love the way that he pitched, we love what he’s going to bring to us at some point, whenever that might be,” Butera said. “But there's a lot for him to be proud of. He's a big leaguer. He's pitched in the big leagues, which is not an easy task. He was 98 [mph] last night, and there's a lot of stuff to really like.” 

Friday, May 1: Friday Night Fireworks; Grateful Dead Day;* Georgetown University Night*

Saturday, May 2: Star Wars Day -- Grogu bobblehead giveaway (first 20,000 fans), lightsaber training in collaboration with LudoSport, character appearances, themed photo booths, pregame DJs

* Special ticket required

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