Oneil Cruz is forcing Pirates to rethink plans with leadoff hitter in 2026

If you’re Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly, the conversation around the leadoff spot shouldn’t even be complicated anymore.

On paper, Spencer Horwitz probably looks like the safer option. High on-base profile. Professional at-bats. A hitter built for traffic creation at the top of a lineup.

But baseball games aren’t played on paper. They’re played on chaos — and nobody creates more chaos than Oneil Cruz.

Through his first four Grapefruit League appearances, Cruz is hitting .600 (6-for-10) with a double, four runs scored, two walks and three stolen bases. Yes, it's spring training. Yes, it's a small sample size. But this isn’t just about numbers. It’s about what happens when Cruz reaches base — especially now that the Pirates finally look like they have legitimate run producers behind him.

Oneil Cruz making strong early impression in leadoff spot at Pirates spring training

The 2026 Pirates are not the 2025 Pirates offensively. Brandon Lowe brings pull-side power and the ability to ambush fastballs early in counts. Marcell Ozuna is one of baseball’s most dangerous mistake hitters and a proven middle-order RBI machine. Ryan O’Hearn quietly punishes right-handed pitching and lengthens the lineup in ways Pittsburgh simply hasn’t had in years.

Put simply? A Cruz single isn’t just a baserunner anymore. It’s practically a double. Cruz stole 38 bases last season despite one of the worst offensive supporting casts in the National League. When he gets moving, pitchers rush deliveries. Catchers cheat throws. Infielders creep toward bags. Mistakes happen.

Now imagine that pressure with legitimate damage hitters stepping into the box immediately afterward. Pitchers can’t afford slide steps when Lowe is waiting to yank a mistake into the right-field seats. They can’t live in fastball counts when Ozuna is hunting mistakes with runners aboard. And they certainly can’t ignore Cruz’s speed when O’Hearn is capable of driving the ball into gaps.

Modern leadoff hitters aren’t just about OBP anymore. They’re about maximizing plate appearances for impact players and forcing opposing pitchers into uncomfortable decisions from the very first pitch of the game.

Cruz checks both boxes. He changes defensive alignments, forces tempo adjustments, and manufactures scoring position without needing extra-base hits. That matters even more for a Pirates team that suddenly projects to score significantly more runs in 2026.

Horwitz may still get opportunities near the top of the order. His on-base ability absolutely has value. But the offseason additions Pittsburgh made weren’t designed to support a patient table-setter. They were designed to cash in traffic.

If Cruz is reaching base at anything close to this level — and pairing it with elite baserunning pressure — the Pirates have an immediate tone-setter at the top of their lineup. And for the first time in years, Pittsburgh finally has enough thunder behind him to make that decision obvious.