Pittsburgh Pirates: What to do With the Designated Hitter

Using Oneil Cruz as the designated hitter

So, this one is really thinking outside of the box. It is also something the team, for a variety of reasons, is very unlikely to do. This idea would be to play Oneil Cruz, who is one of the team’s top prospects, at shortstop.

Cruz is one of the top power hitting prospects in all of baseball. In 2019 Cruz started the season at High-A Bradenton. With the Marauders, he hit for a .301/.345/.515 slash line to go with a 10.3% extra base hit rate and a 154 wRC+.

This earned Cruz a promotion to Double-A Altoona. After a slow start with the Curve, Cruz finished the season on a hot streak. In 136 plate appearances at Double-A, Cruz finished with overall strong numbers with a .269/.346/.412 slash line to go with a 10.1% extra base hit rate and a 120 wRC+.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Cruz was slated to start the season back with Double-A Altoona. The 21-year-old Cruz would have been playing shortstop for the Curve. Although, he is unlikely to be at shortstop long term.

Cruz’s best tool is his power hitting tool. While he still has developing to do, it would not be unreasonable to see Cruz be able to hit for success at the MLB level. That said, he could also struggle immensely until he develops further as a hitter.

It is a very out of the box idea to propose Cruz as the Pittsburgh Pirates DH in 2020. But, hey, the 2020 season is going to be a weird one, so why not propose an outside of the box idea?