Oneil Cruz joins one-of-a-kind Pirates legend with latest impressive milestone

It's hard for Pittsburgh Pirates fans not to be happy about what they've seen from Oneil Cruz so far in the 2026 season. While things haven't been perfect, he's still striking out at a 33.7% clip as of May 10. We've seen the ridiculous feats and some real development. Now, Cruz has matched one of the Pirates' greatest legends thanks to his hot start.

Cruz now has 10 homers and 15 stolen bases on the year, marking just the second time a Pittsburgh hitter has crushed 10 or more homers and swiped 10 or more bases through the club's first 41 games. The only other player to accomplish that feat is none other than Barry Bonds.

Bonds achieved this in 1992, his best and final season as a Pirate. He'd finish the year with a .311/.456/.624 line, 34 homers, and 39 stolen bases. He led the National League in walks, runs scored, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage en route to his second MVP award.

Any time you can be included in the same breath as a legend, especially when the comparison is with one of his most impressive seasons, it's a good thing. With that said, Cruz is still a far cry from Pirates-era Bonds.

Oneil Cruz might not be in Barry Bonds' league, but the Pirates still have to be happy with his growth

Cruz is hitting .255/.320/.473, so despite the power-speed similarity with Bonds, he's produced well below what the all-time great did back in 1992. That's not a knock, per se; it's unfair to compare all but the elite of the elite to Bonds.

However, we've seen some great developments from Cruz anyway. His power is unmatched, and allows him to do astonishing things like bounce a homer off the top of the foul pole. In the past, it had been swing hard or swing harder with the 27-year-old, which had an ugly downside aside from his feats of strength.

But what we've started to see in 2026 from Cruz is growth. Take, for instance, the situational hitting prowess he showed against the Cincinnati Reds in their May 3 matchup. Cruz was the reason the Pirates won the game because he showed a two-strike approach and shot a single back up the middle in the bottom of the eighth, ensuring Pittsburgh emerged victorious by a score of 1-0.

A year ago, Cruz wouldn't have shown that sort of restraint. He'd try to hit the ball 500 feet, and if he connected, he might do it, but even more likely would have been a strikeout.

The 6-foot-7 outfielder got off to a sizzling start that drew comparisons to Willie Stargell's magical 1971 campaign. He's cooled down and slashed just .229/.315/.313 over his last 11 contests. That's fine. Slumps will happen. How he rebounds and how quickly he can adjust and turn it around is what matters.

More importantly, in terms of raw talent, Cruz is up there with the brightest stars of today or yesterday. He's also showing a level of maturity and development that should boost his outlook further. How that all comes together this season remains to be seen, but Cruz doesn't need to win an MVP like Bonds did in 1992 to be a huge positive impact on the 2026 Pirates. He just needs to keep growing.

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