A Look Into New Pirates Prospect Oneil Cruz

The Pittsburgh Pirates traded long time relief pitcher Tony Watson to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a pair of minor league players Oneil Cruz and Angel German.  It is Cruz though that is the big fish.

Oneil Cruz was the Dodgers number 21 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.  In the Pirates system, Cruz ranks 16th.  He’s an interesting player given his age, and him playing full season ball at 18 years old.  He’s tall and lanky, standing 6’6″ and 175 pounds.  He currently plays shortstop, but given his height, he will have to move to third base.  So the Pirates acquired a player who will have to move off his spot, something that is intriguing in its own right.  But the player himself is one who should be of interest given the ceiling he can possess.

His player profile from MLB Pipeline says:

"“Cruz hit .294/.367/.444 with 11 steals in the DSL in 2016 and with his whippy left-handed swing and the leverage provided by his frame, he has considerable power potential that he’ll begin to realize as he gets stronger. His quick hands are an asset as he tries to make more consistent contact as such a young hitter with such a naturally long stroke..Cruz has exceptional body control for someone his size and can play a decent shortstop. His size makes him destined to be a third baseman, and he has the agility and arm strength to be a solid defender there. A long strider who has above-average speed underway, he’ll probably lose a step once he fills out.”"

Nothing here is really surprising, given he is 6’6″.  The swing will be loopy, and he is young and raw.  Cruz is also 175 pounds, which is extremely thin given his height, and once he adds muscle to his frame the speed will decrease.  However, the adding of muscle to the frame should give hope to an increase in power, and the trade-off of speed for power is well worth it given Cruz isn’t blazing with speed.  The power potential is what gives hope for Cruz, and why the Pirates would like his ceiling.  Just watch his swing.

Cruz starts with his stance a tad open with his hands rocking near his right shoulder creating a nice rhythm to it.  He brings his leg up for a high kick, which is fine as he creates his timing that way, and he has a long loopy swing.  The swing is something the Pirates will look to refine to create more contact, as Cruz does have a 13.5 percent swinging strike rate on the season.  But once he shortens the swing, he will increase his contact, assuming all else remains constant.

The long loopy swing with a similar approach should look familiar to Pirates fans, as it looks similar to the one Gregory Polanco has, and one that looks really similar to the one he had in the minor leagues.

But the comparisons don’t stop there.  Here are the numbers of both Oneil Cruz and Gregory Polanco in their age 17 and 18 seasons (works best if you turn your phone to the side):

Polanco played in the in the Dominican League and the Gulf Coast League in his 17 and 18-year-old seasons.  Cruz, on the other hand, got an aggressive promotion from the Dominican League to the Midwest League, which is full season A ball.  That is the reason why Cruz has a much larger age difference in his 18-year-old season than Polanco.

For the most part, the two are comparable in their numbers, Cruz showing off more power, but in turn more strikeouts.  The long looping swing is the main culprit, and as he matures and gets more accustomed to full season baseball, the hope is the swing will shorten up.

Next: Pirates Add Joaquin Benoit

The size and the amount of similarity of Cruz to Polanco likely gave the Pirates hope into the potential they can have.  If Cruz fills out, adds more power,  and can cut down on the strikeouts, the Pirates will look to have gotten a steal of a third baseman for two months of Tony Watson.  The problem is the floor is also incredibly low, and if Cruz does not add more power or cut down on the strikeouts drastically, he will not become a Major League player.  The ceiling was intriguing enough for the Pirates to pull the trigger, and hopefully, it comes to fruition, but patience will be required.

*Numbers from baseball-reference