Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Amir Garrett (50) looks to throw a punch as he is held back by a number of Pittsburgh Pirates players during a brawl in the ninth inning of a baseball game in Cincinnati on Tuesday, July 30, 2019. The Pirates won 11-4. (Sam Greene/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP)
Pittsburgh Pirates’ Oneil Cruz Continues Spring Training Hot Streak With Multi-Home Run Day
The Pittsburgh Pirates haven’t had much regular season success over the past few years, failing to make the playoffs in each of the last eight seasons, but they do have an intriguing young core.
One of their up-and-coming stars, shortstop Oneil Cruz, has been showing some promising signs so far in Spring Training, and he took that to a whole new level Monday.
Cruz went deep twice against the Philadelphia Phillies, leading the Pirates to an 11-2 victory in Grapefruit League play. He finished the day 3-for-4 with six RBI.
After the 6-foot-7, left-handed slugger notched an RBI single in the top of the second, he unleashed a three-run homer in the third. Cruz blasted a two-run shot to right-center in the fifth to cap off his explosive day at the plate.
So far in Spring Training, Cruz is batting .355 with seven homers, 14 RBI and a 1.476 OPS.
Cruz made his MLB debut at the very end of the 2021 season, and he returned to the big leagues midway through 2022 as a top-25 prospect in the game. Even with just 87 appearances that year, Cruz still placed sixth in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
A fractured fibula cost Cruz all but nine games in 2023, stunting his rise to stardom as a result.
Cruz is in line to serve as the Pirates’ leadoff man in 2024. FanGraphs’ Steamer projections have the 25-year-old shortstop on pace to hit .251 with 26 home runs, 72 RBI, 22 stolen bases, a .787 OPS and a 3.2 WAR.
The Pirates have awarded sizable contract extensions to ace Mitch Keller, third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and left fielder Bryan Reynolds over the past few offseasons, and even though Cruz won’t hit free agency until 2029, he is likely next up on the front office’s to-do list.
