Staff Predictions for 2022 Pittsburgh Pirates: Noah Wright

Rookie of the Year – Shortstop Oneil Cruz

It was an extremely close race between Oneil Cruz and Contreras, but I have to give the edge to Cruz here. The insane raw power and talent that comes with Cruz make him not only the Pirate rookie of the year but a contender for National League Rookie of the Year.

Last season Cruz started the season at Altoona, where he hit .292/.346/.546 with a .377 wOBA and 136 wRC+. Those are impressive numbers but pale in comparison to when he was promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis. It was a small sample size of just 29 plate appearances across six games, but he had six extra-base hits (five home runs, one double) across his 11 total hits. Plus, he had an 8:5 BB:K ratio.

When Cruz got promoted to the majors, he kept his hot streak from Indianapolis alive. He had three hits in his first 9 MLB plate appearances; one was a single hit at 118.2 MPH, the 7th hardest-hit ball all season, and a home run he hit on one knee.

Some evaluators were concerned about Cruz’s hit tool, but he’s never batted below .280 in a full season, and his walk rate has moved in the right direction. In 2018 he had just a 7.7% walk rate but upped that to 9.3% this past season. However, this hasn’t come at the cost of his strikeout rate, as it’s stayed relatively constant (22.6% in 2018, 22.9% in 2021).

Cruz has arguably the best power among all minor leaguers and a guy who could consistently hit 40 home runs and .270 a season. Although his long-term position is up in the air, he won’t have to worry about that until Liover Peguero is in the majors. He’s a good enough shortstop with an 80-grade cannon on his shoulder.