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C.J. Cron is blossoming at first base for LA Angels

By David Rice

Aug 30, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels first baseman C.J. Cron (24) is met by Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) after his second home run of the game in the third inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 30, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels first baseman C.J. Cron (24) is met by Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) after his second home run of the game in the third inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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C.J. Cron has made LA Angels manager Mike Scioscia‘s job much easier in regards to first base. Cron has vastly improved  on defense at first base sporting a .994 fielding percentage making only four errors in 689 chances.

As for his offense Cron has been one of the most potent weapons for the LA Angels establishing career highs in home runs and RBI’s and most likely batting average as well.  Cron is hitting .281 with 16 home runs while driving in 63 runs.  He has also cut his strikeouts way down with only 59 in 349 at-bats, compared to 82 in 378 at-bats last season.

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The only issue with Cron is that he has not been able to get over 400 at bats in a season yet in his three year career with the LA Angels.  In 2014 Cron was called up close to mid-season playing in 79 games. Then last year Cron started out so badly in the first two months of the season batting .199 with two home runs and seven runs driven in which prompted the Angels to demote him to Triple-A in June.

When Cron was recalled in early July he was a different hitter raising his average by season’s end to .262 and hitting 16 home runs with 51 RBI’s.  Cron’s 14 homers and 44 RBI’s in the second half propelled the Angels to surge to within a game of making the playoffs.

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This season Cron started slowly again batting .203 with one homer and four RBI’s in April. However, Cron quickly turned it around hitting .286 in May, .303 in June, and .364 in the first week of July before disaster struck. Cron was hit in his left hand by Baltimore’s Michael Wright fracturing  the hand which would put Cron on the DL for a little over five weeks.

Since coming off the DL in late August Cron has been hot again raising his average to a season high .290 on September 5th.  He will most likely finish with 20 homers and possibly as much as 75 RBI’s this season.  Just imagine what his numbers would have been like if had not missed 30+ games with his hand injury.

Hopefully for the Angels and Cron he will have a healthy and effective full season in 2017.  He has given Albert Pujols protection in the number five spot and he has given the Angels a third run producer which they definitely need.  If Cron is healthy for a full season the sky could be the limit and he could hit 30 homers and drive in 100 runs like Pujols and Mike Trout will both likely do this year.

One thing is for sure C.J. Cron has proven he belongs in the majors for many years to come.

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