Rice's Trei Cruz enjoyed his summer on the Cape

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

The first family of baseball is always up for debate:

_ Hall of Famer Hank Aaron and his brother Tommie Aaron combined to hit 768 lifetime homers. Hank hit 755 and Tommie had 13.

_ The Alou family led by three brothers Felipe, Matty and Jay Alou, along with Felipe’s son Moises combined for 7,228 career hits and 127 saves. Felipe had 2,101 hits, Matty had 1,777 and Jay managed 1,216. Felipe’s son Moises Alou was top dag with 2,134 hits, while cousins Mel Rojas and Jose Sosa picked up the saves. Rojas had all but one.

_ Hall of Famer Ken Griffey hit 630 homers, while his father, also named Ken, added 152 for a family total of 782.

_ And then there is the Cruz family, certainly a regal family in the game as it combined for 3,719 hits. Jose Cruz had 2,251 in his 19-year career and his brother Hector had 361, while Jose’sson, Jose Cruz, Jr. had 1,107. Jose Cruz Jr. played 12 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay Rays, San Fransicso Giants, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros and the Toronto Blue Jays.

He spent six seasons with the Jays and that’s where his wife Sarah gave birth to their two sons. SS Trei Cruz, 21 and OF Antonio Cruz, 20 are both knocking on the door and could be soon be adding to the family hit total..

Trei was a draft-eligible sophomore in the spring and was selected in the 37th round from the Rice Owls by the Washington Nationals.

He earned All-Conference USA Second Team) honours, was Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week (Feb. 18) and C-USA Hitter of the Week (Feb. 18). He played in 58 of the team’s 59 games, and started every game in which he played, usually batted third in the order and was never lower than third. Trei tied for 15th in the nation among the NCAA statistical leaders with six triples, the eighth-highest single season total in school history and the most by any Owl in the last decade.

Cruz led the team, and ranked among C-USA leaders, with 121 total bases and 50 runs scored, while placing among the C-USA leaders in at bats (sixth), total plate appearances (seventh) and home runs (11th). He shared the team lead with six steal, finished second in batting average (.305), hits (71), home runs (nine), RBIs (44), slugging (.519), walks (35) and on-base percentage (.393). He helped lift the team into qualifying for the C-USA Tournament by batting .325 in the second half of the season, including a .330 in league-only games.

Trei is a Rice University legacy player as father, Jose Cruz Jr. (1993-1995), and uncle, Enrique Cruz (2001-2003) both played for the Owls.

Baseball America rated Trei Cruz as the 40th best prospect on Cape Cod after his summer with the Falmouth Commodres. He hit .307 with six doubles, a triple, three homers and 22 RBIs in 41 games.

1. Nick Gonzales, 2B, Cotuit (Junior, New Mexico State)

40. Trei Cruz, SS, Falmouth (Junior, Rice)

Cruz, the son of Jose Cruz Jr., was a draft-eligible sophomore this spring and was drafted in the 37th round by the Nationals. He elected not to sign and instead spent the summer with Falmouth, where he was one of the lineup’s anchors.

A switch-hitter, Cruz has a confident, aggressive approach at the plate. He doesn’t expand the zone much, but he goes after strikes and has the ability to drive the ball from both sides of the plate. He’s also a plus runner, giving him an intriguing offensive skillset. Unlike his father, who was a Gold Glove outfielder, Cruz is an infielder and, at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, he is bigger than his father. That size gives him the look of a third baseman or maybe an offensive second baseman, and he may yet end up there. But he’s been a shortstop both at Rice and Falmouth and his raw tools give him the ability to make highlight reel plays. The challenge will be doing it on an everyday basis in pro ball, but no matter where he ends up defensively, he offers intriguing potential.

_ Carlos Collazo