Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Rum Bunter’s Preseason Top 10

Number 1 – Shortstop Oneil Cruz

Oneil Cruz has skyrocketed into the stratosphere of prospect boards over the last year. The towering 6’7″ shortstop was acquired at the 2017 trade deadline when the Pirates sent struggling rental reliever Tony Watson to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Cruz. At the time, Cruz was an 18-year-old who the Dodgers had signed out of the international market. Now, he looks like he could be a key cog to the Pirate long-term lineup.

Cruz started the year at Double-A Altoona, where he batted .292/.346/.536 with a .377 wOBA and 136 wRC+. Cruz continued to show off his phenomenal power potential, blasting a dozen homers while having a .244 isolated slugging percentage. But what he did at Altoona pales compared to what he did at Triple-A.

While it was only six games and 29 plate appearances, Cruz had 11 hits, 5 of which were home runs, along with eight walks. He only struck out five times, leading to a 370 wRC+ in this small window. The lefty batter continued his obliteration of baseball into the major leagues as he collected three hits in his first nine plate appearances with the Pittsburgh Pirates. This includes a home run in which he hit on one knee and the 7th hardest-hit ball all season.

Not only did he perform extremely well in the upper minors and looked great in his first look in the majors, but I think it’s even more impressive that he did this after what happened last offseason. Cruz was involved in a fatal car accident that killed three where he, at one point, was accused of driving drunk. However, there ended up being no evidence of Cruz being under the influence. Being falsely accused of such a henious crime, as well as, in general, being involved in an accident that ended with three dead likely put Cruz through a mental turmoil, so it was very nice to see him rebound from it the way he did. If you want to read a full timeline of events relating to the incident as well as a more detailed report of the events, you can click here as we put together an article of what happened.

Cruz’s power potential is off the charts. He easily has 80-grade power and is a guy that should eclipse 40 home runs on the regular. Many see his hit tool as a bit fringy, but he’s yet to bat lower than .285 in any season since arriving to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He does have a bit of swing-and-miss, but nothing worryingly so. Guys with frames like him will always have a few strikeout questions. The bigger question has been walks, but his walk rate has steadily increased since 2018. But overall, his offensive potential is among the best in the minor leagues.

Cruz’s long-term defensive home is the real question. He’s a capable defender at shortstop and has an 80-grade arm. But with guys like the aforementioned Peguero, Chandler, Escotto, and other notable names like Ji-Hwan Bae, Diego Castillo, Hoy Park, Tucupita Marcano, Rodolfo Castro, and Mike Jarvis on hand as other shortstop capable prospects, Cruz may end up in the outfield. But he’s more than fast enough to handle the grass regularly.

Cruz will be extremely entertaining to watch in the majors regardless of where he ends up. His raw power is only rivaled by those like Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Vlad Guerrero Jr., and Fernando Tatis Jr. Even if he only ends up hitting .260-.270, it’s more than enough for him to reach 35+ home runs on a consistent basis.