During spring training this year, I noticed a different approach Cron was using when he walks up to the plate. At least I think its different since its hard to find much video of him from before a pitch is delivered. When Cron steps up to the plate, his legs are wide and he crouches down like hes doing a sideways deep knee bend before he comes back up to his ready stance. This got me thinking - what did Cron look like last year? How about in college? Or as a prospect? Enjoy this video journey into the evolution of C.J. Cron - the hitter.

Cron had a more narrow stance in the early days and seemed a little bit more rigid. He still had a pretty sweet swing and a lot of pop. There is a reason he was a #1 draft pick. He went to Orem in 2011 and slashed .308/.371/.629 with 13 home runs in just 34 games.

In 2012, Cron was leaning down a bit more but his stance didnt change all that much. He skipped over A ball and went right to A+ where he knocked out 27 home runs in 129 games. Rookie ball to A+ is a good jump and he seemed to handle it well.

By the time he reached AA ball and some more talented pitching, Cron looked more relaxed at the plate and opened up his stance a bit. His changes in approach at the plate from college to AA ball are pretty noticeable.

Cron had reasons to smile in his big league debut as he knocked in 3 hits and 2 RBIs during his May debut. Cron was pretty much here to stay at that point with just a few more short stints in Salt Lake. He was relaxed at the plate but still had a bit of over-eagerness.

Take a look at Crons body language here. He has a adjusted his approach at the plate at bit more and we probably wont see a lot more changes other than minor ones at this point. He looks really, really comfortable up there. Cron has 20-25 HR potential, though we havent seen it yet. Mostly because hes never had more than 116 games in one season. Crons AVG, OBP, and walks to K ratio have all improved over his 3 years in the majors. I guess the biggest question we will probably see answered this year is - has his evolution comes to its near peak - or will we see more out of him as a hitter in his age 27 season?

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The evolution of CJ Cron - the hitter - Halo's Heaven