Cronenworth forewent his final year of college eligibility when he was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the seventh round of the 2015 MLB draft.

He played five seasons in the Rays farm system and spent time with the United States national baseball team in 2019.

[3] The Tampa Bay Rays selected Cronenworth in the seventh round of the 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft.

[8] After the season, on October 10, 2019, Cronenworth was selected for the United States national baseball team in the 2019 WBSC Premier 12.

[11] On December 6, 2019, Cronenworth and Tommy Pham were traded to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Hunter Renfroe, Xavier Edwards, and a player to be named later (PTBNL).

He tied with Alec Bohm of the Philadelphia Phillies for second place in NL Rookie of the Year voting, behind Devin Williams of the Milwaukee Brewers.

On October 14, 2022, Cronenworth had the game-winning 2-run single in the bottom of the 7th inning of Game 4 of the NLDS to finish off the Padres’ defeat of the rival Los Angeles Dodgers in what is considered one of the biggest upsets in baseball history.