Oneil Cruz Stats
- Height / Weight
- 6' 7" / 210 lbs.
- Date of Birth (Age)
- 10/4/1998 (23)
- Experience
- 0
- College
- None
Oneil Cruz Season Stats
Last 10 Games
Oneil Cruz News
Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz (elbow), the team's No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline, is still feeling "mild" elbow symptoms and is not throwing. Cruz suffered a forearm strain while at Double-A Altoona in late June and is still not 100 percent recovered. The hope, for now, is that Cruz will be able to avoid going under the knife. The 22-year-old 6-foot-7, 210-pounder is hitting .289/.349/.538 with nine home runs, 29 RBI, 34 runs scored and 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts. Despite his abnormal size for a shortstop, Cruz consistently makes plays, so he's not a lock to move to third base as he gets closer to the big leagues. His raw power and ability to barrel balls consistently make him one of the most intriguing shortstop prospects in the game.
Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz (forearm) felt some pain after a throw while playing for Double-A Altoona, and director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said that evaluations showed a mild forearm strain. Cruz should be ready to return to baseball activities in two to three weeks. The team's No. 3 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, hasn't played since late June as a result. However, the 22-year-old has been great in 2021 when on the field, slashing .289/.349/.538 with nine home runs, 34 runs scored, 29 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 43 games for Altoona. He is a fascinating prospect for his incredible raw power, but also because he stands at 6-foot-7 and plays shortstop. Even if he doesn't stick at short in the major leagues, Cruz's bat and pop will play.
Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz went 3-for-3 with a double and a home run on Saturday at Double-A. The homer was his eighth of the season in 30 games. With a 55% ground-ball rate, Cruz has much more power to tap into if he can make some adjustments to his swing. He's also flashed some solid base running skills with seven steals in nine attempts to make him an even more intriguing dynasty baseball target. He's now hitting .400 with four homers and four steals in June. His 158 wRC+ suggests he could soon be ready for a promotion to Triple-A. Cruz continues to have a dark cloud hanging over his head after being involved in a deadly car accident in the offseason and there have been persistent concerns over his maturity since he turned pro.
Batting Order
| 1 | Kevin Newman |
| 2 | Yoshi Tsutsugo |
| 3 | Michael Chavis |
| 4 | Colin Moran |
| 5 | Anthony Alford |
| 6 | Ben Gamel |
| 7 | Oneil Cruz |
| 8 | Michael Perez |
Oneil Cruz Stats
Last 10 Games
Batting Order
| 1 | Kevin Newman |
| 2 | Yoshi Tsutsugo |
| 3 | Michael Chavis |
| 4 | Colin Moran |
| 5 | Anthony Alford |
| 6 | Ben Gamel |
| 7 | Oneil Cruz |
| 8 | Michael Perez |
Add Cruz to the very long list of people who are glad 2020 is over. Along with the pandemic and the lack of a minor league season, this young infielder dealt with a serious blow to his prospect value due to concerns about his maturity, which were made even worse when he was involved in a fatal car accident in the Dominican Republic. He appears to have escaped any punishments for the accident which should allow him to play baseball in North America in 2021. The hulking 6-foot-7 infielder has massive raw power think 30+ home runs but he doesn't tap into it consistently enough. Cruz hits too many balls on the ground and needs to improve his launch angle. It's not uncommon for taller hitters to take longer to find consistency with their swing but will this particular prospect put in the necessary work to get better or is he willing to slide by on natural talent? That is the (multi-) million-dollar question. Cruz's upside is massive especially if he can stick in the middle of the diamond but he's a difficult prospect to get behind and really believe in before hearing some reports that highlight a shift in maturity and focus. He's possibly worth a flyer in dynasty leagues and may find his way to Pittsburgh at some point in 2021 if the new management team thinks he can play shortstop at the big league level. As for redraft leagues, he's a potential waiver wire target if things start to click for him and he gets the call.