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Christensen: Angel in the Infield

By Todd Christensen
June 8, 2011

In the recent amateur baseball draft, CJ Cron, first baseman for the University of Utah, was the 17th pick of the first round, taken by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  It wasn't altogether unexpected that he would go that high as pundits had him pegged somewhere between No. 20 - 30 in the first round.

What was surprising is that the Angels had apparently not shown much interest in him so much so that their scouting director, Ric Wilson, told Bill Kinneberg, the Utah manager, that they weren't going to take him.  Apparently, the sand-bagging worked as the Angels got their man and Cron is now afforded the opportunity to be with a class organization that has been at or near the top of their division for the last decade and has arguably the most stable management in the big leagues.

But in truth, what's amazing is that this happened at all.  No one is denying the talent of Cron, but the MWC may be the hardest spring sports conference in the nation.  While the usual suspects in Omaha in June are able to play baseball pretty much year-round, teams like Utah have to go on the road for more than half of their season to begin with.  And when Conference play starts in late March/early April, there's no guarantee that weather is going to hold up.  In fact, the Rocky Mountains are notorious for winter simply meshing into summer with no real "spring time in the Rockies" at all.  When you hear that axiom about the pitchers being ahead of the hitters, that could continue throughout a 50-game season and hitters might not warm up at all.

Cron, however, was the exception.  Overcoming the non-baseball weather, he was third in the nation in batting average (.434) and his on-base percentage was .517.  For the uninitiated, that means that he gets on base more than half the time, and he was on base for every game of the year except the last one.  His slugging percentage, a category he led the nation in, was an absolutely Ruthian .803.  Finally, a projection of his power numbers over an entire big league season reveals that he would’ve hit 50 home runs with - get this - 195 RBI.  When you take into account the fact that this was also the season that the college baseball powers altered the bats so that there would be a smaller sweet spot and less offense, what CJ Cron accomplished is sterling.

Critics would point to the advantage of having a father that is a baseball lifer.  Not only is Chris Cron the manager of the Detroit Tigers AA affiliate Erie Seawolves, but he made his major league debut 20 years ago with, you guessed it, the then-California Angels.  While such an upbringing within the game certainly has it's advantages, it's also a double-edged sword insomuch that the expectations are that much higher and you're never afforded the chance to be average or just another player.
 
CJ Cron has made his mark past all of that and into the elite of minor league players.  Here's hoping that his rise to the majors is a rapid one and that he represents his former university and Conference well.
See all of Todd Christensen's blog entries HERE.