Pittsburgh Pirates: Oneil Cruz can Provided Need Power in 2022

Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Oneil Cruz has made a big jump from his 2019 campaign and he should provide a power boost in the Pirate lineup when he debuts in 2022

The talk of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization over the last few days are the prospects called up from Double-A, many of who have an ETA set for 2022, to the Triple-A level. One of those prospects has already made an impression on the Triple-A team and will make the Indianapolis Indians a fun team to watch in 2022, along with other prospects.

When Oneil Cruz hits a home run he sends it deep, along with his speed on the base paths and a knack for getting on base a lot, he has a lot to add to a Pirates lineup that does get the job done sometimes but is not consistent.

Cruz puts the ball in play almost every time, he often doesn’t ground into double plays because of his speed, which is a big trait because the Pittsburgh Pirates are ranked near the top of caught stealing and near the bottom on stolen bases.

Cruz is expected to be the next Pirate shortstop considering there are many capable candidates throughout the farm system, although if he ends up an outfielder it wouldn’t be so bad because of his height and speed. Cruz will eventually join a lineup that is ranked last in all of baseball in home runs, averaging 0.77 per game and 117 overall for 2021, he doesn’t have an overwhelming amount of power but is improving, and with time in Triple-A next season I don’t see why he wouldn’t keep improving that aspect of his game.

The 3rd ranked Pirate prospect is an exciting player to fans and has a very high ceiling on the offense, and if the universal designated hitter becomes a thing, he could be an option to bat in that slot, depending on how he plays on defense.