Oneil Cruz 2025 center field ranking even has Pirates fans confused

Moving Oneil Cruz to the outfield in 2024 may turn out to be a very positive decision down the road. He was not performing well at shortstop, clouding his offensive prowess with a lot of errors. These deficiencies cost the Pirates multuiple games one season ago.

This position switch came near the end of the season, so he did not get much time out in center field, but nonetheless, he is already considered by a panel of experts to rank top 10 at the position in MLB.

Recently, MLB.com rated Cruz as the ninth-best center fielder in all of baseball, which is quite surprising, given that he only played in 23 games at that position. It was made very clear at the time that he was moving positions for good, but nonetheless, this was expected to be a long process of mastering the role. It came out of nowhere to see him in the top 10 already league-wide.

MLB.com ranks Pirates' Oneil Cruz as ninth-best center fielder in baseball, despite having less than 200 innings played at the position.

His defense in center field during his short stint was decent. His +2 outs above average (OAA) were solid, but his two errors and -3 defense runs saved told a different story. Cruz has a great sprint speed that ranks in the 88th percentile and the best arm strength in the league, ranking in the 100th percentile of that metric. The productive OAA and outstanding physical traits contributed to his ranking but, in the end, his offensive numbers are really what put him in that top tier, despite a lack of experience.

At the plate, Cruz belted 21 home runs, 34 doubles, and three triples to generate a slugging percentage of .449. That paired with an on-base percentage of .324 to create an OPS of .773. His wRC+ reached 110, which is 10 points above average, but he struck out at a poor 30.2% rate.

His bat speed ranks in the 100th percentile at 78.6 miles per hour (MPH), his average exit velocity is 95.5 MPH (which ranks in the 99th percentile), and both his barrel rate of 15.7% and his hard-hit percentage of 54.9% are in the 97th percentile. He has some elite metrics, but striking out has hurt him.

Cruz has the bat to earn his ranking, but it is surprising to see him make the top 10 in center field with less than 25 games under his belt at the position. If Cruz can continue to develop his glove at his new position and takes the next step at the plate, then he could continue to rise on this list.