Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz is not in Sunday's lineup when they conclude a series against the Cleveland Guardians. Cruz has been in the starting nine in each of the previous seven contests and will get a much-needed day off. During this stretch, the 26-year-old has posted a .269/.367/.654 slash line with one double, three home runs, and three stolen bases. Through 19 games this season, Cruz has held a .234/.363/.500 slash line with five long balls and 10 stolen bases. Under the hood, he has generated an elite 20.5 percent barrel rate and a 54.5 percent hard-hit rate, which are both well above the average marks, which suggests his power production should continue to climb during the summer. Fantasy managers should expect Cruz to return to the lineup on Tuesday against the Angels. This afternoon, Alexander Canario will cover center field and bat in the five-hole.
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz went 2-for-4 with a single and a grand slam in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Nationals. It was his third home run of the season, and his slash line now sits at .222/.343/.426. The batting average has been disappointing so far this season, but Cruz has been a star on the base paths. He has eight stolen bases in 15 games played, which would put him at a pace of over 80 in a full season. That might be asking for a lot, but it's safe to say that he's trending towards blowing past his 22 steals from 2024.
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz (finger) is returning to center field and will bat third for Sunday's series finale against the division-rival Cincinnati Reds and right-hander Hunter Greene. Cruz was hit by a pitch on his finger on Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals and was forced to miss the next three games. The 26-year-old is feeling better now, though, and will return in the series finale. Fantasy managers will want to get him back into their starting lineups, as he's hit .333 with a 1.302 OPS, two home runs and two RBI in 12 career at-bats against Greene. Cruz is hitting .211 (8-for-38) in his first 12 games in 2025, but he's added two home runs, a double, five RBI, seven stolen bases and five runs scored in 50 plate appearances.
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz (finger) remains out of the starting lineup ahead of Saturday's game against the Cincinnati Reds. Cruz injured his finger earlier in the week when he was hit by a pitch on the hand. He's being considered as day-to-day, but will miss his third straight game on Saturday. Hopefully, Cruz can return soon and avoid a trip to the injured list. Alexander Canario will cover center field and bat sixth versus left-hander Andrew Abbott. Fantasy managers will need to check back for another update on Sunday.
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz (finger) remains out of the starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the division-rival Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Cruz was hit by a pitch on his finger on Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals and will sit out for the second straight day as a result. It's not considered a very serious injury, though, so fantasy managers should hopefully get Cruz back at some point over the weekend in Cincinnati. With Cruz out, Jack Suwinski is making another start in center field and will hit sixth against Reds right-hander Brady Singer. Suwinski will be a poor DFS play on Friday night. He's gone 3-for-25 in the early going and has never faced Singer in his career. Cruz has started the year hitting only .211 (8-for-38), but he does have two long balls, five RBI, five runs scored and a league-leading seven stolen bases.
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz (finger) was absent from Wednesday's lineup due to finger soreness, according to manager Derek Shelton. Cruz suffered the injury on Tuesday when he was hit by a pitch, but it doesn't seem to be serious. He was available to pinch run or play defense in Wednesday's game if necessary. He'll look to hopefully rejoin the lineup on Thursday and continue his solid start to the season. He's only batting .211, but has a .360 OBP and has already stolen seven bases.
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz will draw out of the starting lineup for Wednesday's series finale against the division-rival St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park. With Cruz resting in the matinee, Jack Suwinski will slide to center field and bat leadoff, with Tommy Pham manning left field and batting eighth against Cardinals right-hander Erick Fedde. Cruz was hit by a pitch late in Tuesday's contest against St. Louis but stayed in the game, so perhaps his day of rest is related to that. The team has an off day on Thursday before beginning a series on Friday in Cincinnati against the division-rival Reds, so fantasy managers will want to check back then to see if the 26-year-old is back in the lineup. Cruz has gotten off to a .211 (8-for-38) start, but he doe have two homers, a double, five RBI and a league-leading seven steals in 12 games played.
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz went 2-for-4 with a homer, two RBI, and a steal in a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday. Cruz launched a solo shot off Tampa starter Ryan Pepiot in the fifth inning, giving him his second homer of the season. He later came back and added another RBI on a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning. Cruz is now hitting .261 with two homers, four runs, four RBI, and six steals across 23 at-bats in the early going as he looks to build on his first 20/20 season in 2024.
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz is not in Sunday's lineup when the Pirates conclude a series against the Miami Marlins. Cruz has started in each of the first three games of the series in center field. Across these games, the 26-year-old has gone 2-for-10 with three runs, two RBI, a long ball, four stolen bases, and a 6:2 BB:K. As a result, Jack Suwinski will get the nod in center field and bat fifth. Fantasy managers should expect Cruz to return to the starting nine on Monday evening when the Pirates travel to face the Rays. On Saturday, Suwinski went 1-for-5 with a double and a stolen base during his first start of the campaign and is worth a look in DFS this afternoon facing Miami right-hander Max Meyer, who held a 5.68 ERA across 57 innings last season.
Oneil Cruz Draws Four Walks, Steals Two Bases In Loss
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz went 0-for-2 on Saturday, but was able to coax four walks in the 5-4 loss to the Marlins in extra innings. The 26-year-old also swiped two bases in the contest, now with four total and at least one in each of the three games so far this season, and he also scored once. The 6-foot-7 slugger is 2-for-10 through three games with a 6:2 BB:K, and will look to keep getting on base on Sunday against Marlins starter Max Meyer, who pitched in just 11 games last season after working his way back from Tommy John. Meyer pitched to a 5.58 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and 14 home runs allowed in those 11 starts. Redraft managers will, of course, keep starting Cruz in lineups, but he could be in play for DFS as well.
Oneil Cruz
• CF
•
Pirates
