Players · C · Pitcher · 2026

Fernando Cruz

Age: 36
B/T: R/R
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 237 lb
Number: #63

Born: March 28, 1990 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico
MLB debut: September 2, 2022
Drafted: 2007, round 6
High school: Puerto Rico Advancement College
Salary, 2026: $1.45M

dbWAR: 4.1
IP: 54.2
ERA: 3.13
FIP: 4.18
K/9: 11.0
FIP−: 100

Fernando Cruz is a relief pitcher for the New York Yankees. In 2026 he struck out 67 batters over 54.2 innings across 61 appearances, going 4-6. His ERA of 3.13 is 25.1% lower than the league average of 4.18 — 8th of 17 on his team, and 107th of 538 among MLB pitchers with 20+ innings. Stripping out defence, his 4.18 FIP suggests that his ERA had some help behind him. He missed bats on 39.1% of swings (17.1% of every pitch he threw), walked 13.7% of the batters he faced and struck out 28.6%. His 0.4 dbWAR is built from that FIP rather than runs allowed, so it credits him for what he controls and not for the defence behind him.

League context

Percentile among qualified pitchers, 2026.

FIP4.18

K/911.0

WHIP1.34

WAR.4

WAR by season

Pitching

Standard and advanced, by season.


2026	NYY	61	0	54.2	4	6	2	41	19	67	32	3.13	4.18	1.34	11.0	5.3	75	100	0.4
2025	NYY	49	0	48.0	3	4	2	33	19	72	24	3.56	3.18	1.19	13.5	4.5	86	76	0.8
2024	CIN	69	3	66.2	3	8	0	54	36	109	35	4.86	3.27	1.33	14.7	4.7	119	80	1.1
2023	CIN	58	2	66.0	1	2	0	52	36	98	28	4.91	2.83	1.21	13.4	3.8	113	65	1.5
2022	CIN	14	2	14.2	0	1	0	9	2	21	9	1.23	3.18	1.23	12.9	5.5	31	80	0.3

Platoon splits

How left- and right-handed hitters fare against him.

Season

Opponent batting by the side the hitter bats from, 2026. Counted from play-by-play, so totals can differ from the box-score season line by a plate appearance or two.
Split	PA	AB	H	HR	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	K%
vs LHB	122	100	18	3	20	30	.180	.311	.320	.290	24.6%
vs RHB	112	98	23	4	12	37	.235	.330	.418	.331	33.0%

Pitch sequencing

What Fernando Cruz throws in each count, and what he follows each pitch with. Select any cell for the breakdown.

ShowBatter

SplitterFour-seamSliderSinkerSweeper

Select a count to see exactly what Fernando Cruz throws in it.

Pitch arsenal

What he throws, how hard, how often it misses, and what hitters do with it.

Season


Splitter	51.3%	484	80.0	724	45.9%	52.0%	118	.161	.542
Four-Seam Fastball	31.9%	301	93.2	2,240	45.5%	13.4%	61	.311	.952
Slider	13.2%	125	82.2	2,559	48.8%	38.1%	11	—	—
Sinker	3.0%	28	92.6	2,079	42.9%	16.7%	7	—	—

Fernando Cruz's arsenal by usage. Velocity is average release speed in mph, spin in rpm, and whiff rate is misses per swing — the cleanest single measure of whether a pitch beats hitters. BAA and OPS are what hitters did against each pitch, credited to the one that ended the plate appearance, and are left blank under 15 at-bats.

Head to head

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Similar players

Nearest 2026 seasons by command, run prevention and role, on rate statistics rather than totals.

Hogan HarrisATH

ERA: 3.33
FIP: 4.08
SO: 88
WAR: 0.7

Very close

Bryan AbreuHOU

ERA: 3.73
FIP: 4.62
SO: 80
WAR: 0.0

Very close

Ryan ZeferjahnLAA

ERA: 3.88
FIP: 3.82
SO: 94
WAR: 0.6

Very close

Luis MedinaATH

ERA: 3.08
FIP: 3.57
SO: 93
WAR: 1.2

Very close

How these are computed

wOBA uses linear weights measured from this season's own play-by-play rather than published constants, and wRC+ is park-adjusted against that same league. dbWAR is our own open implementation — not fWAR or bWAR — and the full derivation, including its simplifications, is on the methodology page.