Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz Stats & Scouting Report

IP	28.2
ERA	3.77
WHIP	1.26
BB/9	5.65
SO/9	9.1

Full name Elmer Javier Rodriguez-Cruz
Born 08/18/2003 in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 160 / Bats: L / Throws: R
School Leadership Christian
Drafted in the 4th round (105th overall) by the Boston Red Sox in 2021 (signed for $497,500).

View Draft Report

Rodriguez-Cruz is a projection lefthander committed to Oregon who has a long, loose arm action and a fastball in the 88-91 mph range. He should be able to add velocity as he fills out his frame and scouts also think he needs work with his breaking ball to get to an average secondary. He’s one of the youngest players in the class and will still be 17 on draft day, but he is immensely athletic and is a good strike thrower currently. There’s a lot of projection here, but solid indicators as well.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

BA Grade: 45/Extreme

Track Record: When the Red Sox made Rodriguez-Cruz their fourth-round pick in 2021, he was Boston’s highest selection of a high school pitcher since Michael Kopech in 2014. They signed Rodriguez-Cruz, a projectable, rail-thin 17-year-old with some feel for four pitches, for an under-slot bonus of $497,500. He held his own as a 19-year-old in the Low-A Carolina League in 2023, but elbow inflammation limited him to two innings over the final two months.

Scouting Report: Rodriguez-Cruz attacks the strike zone aggressively with a mix of four pitches that mostly project as average. He averaged 92-93 mph on his fastball in 2023 and touched 95. The pitch lacks elite shape, but Rodriguez-Cruz’s frame has room to add power and reach above-average velocity. He reshaped his changeup into a hybrid splitter in 2023 and altered his slider to create glove-side movement and get on the hands of lefties. Rodriguez-Cruz also has a strike-stealing slow curve. He has the feel to shape and reshape pitches, making Rodriguez-Cruz a work in progress who nonetheless has plenty of potential to make gains in both power and pitch quality as he develops.

The Future: Rodriguez-Cruz has back-of-the-rotation potential if he fills out and gains power. If that doesn’t happen, his feel for pitching gives him a chance to be an up-and-down depth contributor.

Scouting Grades Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 55
BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme

Track Record: In high school, Rodriguez-Cruz was a reed-thin 17-year-old up to 94 mph with four pitches, showing the projectable physical traits and strike-throwing ability to suggest an attractive ceiling. The Red Sox took him in the fourth round--their highest selection of a high school righthander since Michael Kopech in 2014--and gave him a slightly below-slot bonus of $497,500. In his 2022 pro debut, Rodriguez-Cruz had a 1.88 ERA with a 26.1% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate in 38 1/3 innings, mostly in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League.

Scouting Report: Even as he has room for considerable strength gains, Rodriguez-Cruz works with a fastball up to 95 mph and features good extension, getting on hitters quickly. The athletic righthander isn't shy about attacking the strike zone with his fastball as the headliner of a mix that also includes a curveball that could be a tick above-average pitch, as well as a changeup and a fringy slider.

The Future: Rodriguez-Cruz has a mix that gives him a chance to emerge as a starter, most likely at the back of the rotation, so long as either his changeup or slider develops into a viable third big league pitch. He finished 2022 in Low-A Salem and likely will spend much of 2023 there.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Curveball: 55. Slider: 45. Changeup: 45. Control: 50.

Scouting Reports

BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme

Track Record: In high school, Rodriguez-Cruz was a reed-thin 17-year-old up to 94 mph with four pitches, showing the projectable physical traits and strike-throwing ability to suggest an attractive ceiling. The Red Sox took him in the fourth round--their highest selection of a high school righthander since Michael Kopech in 2014--and gave him a slightly below-slot bonus of $497,500. In his 2022 pro debut, Rodriguez-Cruz had a 1.88 ERA with a 26.1% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate in 38 1/3 innings, mostly in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League.

Scouting Report: Even as he has room for considerable strength gains, Rodriguez-Cruz works with a fastball up to 95 mph and features good extension, getting on hitters quickly. The athletic righthander isn't shy about attacking the strike zone with his fastball as the headliner of a mix that also includes a curveball that could be a tick above-average pitch, as well as a changeup and a fringy slider.

The Future: Rodriguez-Cruz has a mix that gives him a chance to emerge as a starter, most likely at the back of the rotation, so long as either his changeup or slider develops into a viable third big league pitch. He finished 2022 in Low-A Salem and likely will spend much of 2023 there.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Curveball: 55. Slider: 45. Changeup: 45. Control: 50.
BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme

Track Record: In high school, Rodriguez-Cruz was a reed-thin 17-year-old up to 94 mph with four pitches, showing the projectable physical traits and strike-throwing ability to suggest an attractive ceiling. The Red Sox took him in the fourth round--their highest selection of a high school righthander since Michael Kopech in 2014--and gave him a slightly below-slot bonus of $497,500. In his 2022 pro debut, Rodriguez-Cruz had a 1.88 ERA with a 26.1% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate in 38 1/3 innings, mostly in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League.

Scouting Report: Even as he has room for considerable strength gains, Rodriguez-Cruz works with a fastball up to 95 mph and features good extension, getting on hitters quickly. The athletic righthander isn't shy about attacking the strike zone with his fastball as the headliner of a mix that also includes a curveball that could be a tick above-average pitch, as well as a changeup and a fringy slider.

The Future: Rodriguez-Cruz has a mix that gives him a chance to emerge as a starter, most likely at the back of the rotation, so long as either his changeup or slider develops into a viable third big league pitch. He finished 2022 in Low-A Salem and likely will spend much of 2023 there.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Curveball: 55. Slider: 45. Changeup: 45. Control: 50.
BA Grade: 50/Extreme

Track Record: Rodriguez-Cruz was drafted by Boston in the fourth round of the 2021 draft out of Leadership Christian Academy in Puerto Rico. A projectable righthander who was just 17 years old at the 2021 draft, the Red Sox held Rodriguez-Cruz back last summer. He eventually debuted this spring in the Florida Complex League.

Scouting Report: After sitting 88-91 mph as an amateur Rodriguez-Cruz has been sitting 92-93 mph and up to 95-96 mph this spring. His fastball features only moderate hop with spin rates in the 2,000-2,100 rpm range, but does have average vertical ride with above-average arm-side run giving it some life at the plate. His high-70s-to-low-80s curveball is his bread-and-butter secondary, with 11-5 shape with solid depth. He mixes in a mid-80s cutter-slider hybrid pitch, and shows feel for a firmer high-80s changeup. In games Rodriguez-Cruz has shown the ability to throw strikes, generate whiffs and weak groundball contact.

The Future: Rodriguez-Cruz is still very much a work in progress but he has the upside of a mid-rotation starter or quality bullpen anchor. It&#39s a matter of improving his overall pitch quality and power without sacrificing Rodriguez-Cruz&#39s inherent pitcher traits.

Career Transactions

Greenville Drive activated RHP Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz.
RHP Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz assigned to Greenville Drive from Salem Red Sox.
RHP Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz assigned to Greenville Drive from Salem Red Sox.
Salem Red Sox placed RHP Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz on the 7-day injured list retroactive to July 21, 2023.