Prospect Watch: After Hot Spring, Cruz has sites set on Majors
A few seasons ago, the shortstop position was one that lacked depth for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Entering the 2016 season, their only Major League ready option was Jordy Mercer and Cole Tucker was the best promising prospect, but he was still in Class A Bradenton at the time. That is when the Pirates got to work, selling off some of their top pieces to rebuild for the next Pirates playoff runs. While many fans weren't happy with the trades that took place, the moves were all made to ensure the Pirates had the depth they need to ensure success for many years.
One of the pieces the Pirates acquirred during that sale of players was shortstop Oneil Cruz. Cruz came over, along with pitcher Angel German, in the trade that sent Tony Watson to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 31st 2017. From the moment he was born, baseball was Cruz's destiny. His father was Minor League infielder Rafael Cruz, and he wanted his son to follow in his foot steps. He left a baseball glove by Oneil's crib and wanted him to grow up to not only be like him, but exceed what he did in baseball.
Cruz took baseball to heart, growing up around the game, and eventually made it his career. He signed as a minor league free agent with the Dodgers on July 2nd 2015 and was immediately assigned to the Dominican Summer League Dodgers. Right away, Cruz showed a knack for getting on base hitting .294 in that first season with an on base percentage of .367. Cruz was not a very patient hitter, walking just 22 times in 187 at bats, but he also didn't strikeout much making him an asset at the top of the lineup.
Cruz would make the move to Class A baseball in 2017 where he started the season with the Great Lakes Loons. The adjustment took a toll on his batting average, dropping it to .240 that season, but saw the rise of a slight power surge from Cruz. After hitting 0 home runs his rookie season, he turned around and hit eight with the Loons while driving in 36 runs. He also showed above average speed on the base paths picking up eight steals in 15 chances. While his bat was showing promise, his defense needed major work as he comitted a horrifying 18 errors and had a fielding percentage of .822 that season.
Still, needing to add depth, the Pirates took a chance on the young shortstop and felt that they could help him develop into an everyday shortstop. When he joined the West Virginia Power, the Pittsburgh Pirates Class A team, his numbers almost flip flopped as his offensive numbers dropped while his defensive numbers went on the rise. In 15 games for the Power, Cruz brought his fielding percentage up to .840, comitting eight errors in 126.1 innings, while picking up eight put outs and 34 assists. Meanwhile, he saw his batting average dip to .218 over those 15 games as he hit the first road block of his professional career.
During the 2017 off-season, Cruz worked harder than ever to get back to form training in the Dominican Republic. He came back better than ever hitting .286 for the Power during the 2018 season. He was able to put it all together showing career power and RBI numbers, hitting 14 home runs while driving in 59 RBI, while still being able to hit for a high average. He led the Power with an .831 on base percentage and was fourth on the team with his .286 average. His defense got better as well with his fielding percentage jumping over 70 points to .918 while recording 125 put outs and 244 assists.
He was named a South Atlantic League post-season All-Star and was on the move up to Bradenton to start 2019. It was another strong start for Cruz he had his average hovering around the .300 mark over the first month of the season before he hit his first roadblock. He fractured his right foot on April 28th and had to head to the injured list for the first time in his career. The injury took about a month to heal and, after a short rehab assignment in the Dominican Summer League, Cruz was back with the Maurauders on June 30th.
He would go on to hit .301 in 36 games with the Maurauders hitting seven home runs and driving in 16 RBI. He would then make the biggest jump of any player's career heading to Double A Altoona for the final 35 games of the 2019 season. He managed to hit .269 during that stretch with a .346 on base percentage, the second highest number of his Minor League career. He hit just one home run with the Curve while driving in 17 RBI. His defense continued to improve as well as he comitted just 16 errors and boasted a .951 fielding percentage between the three levels of the Minor Leagues.
The Pirates put Cruz on the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, and he got the invite to his first-ever Major League Spring Training. He had appeared in six games the year before, but now had a name and number on his back with something to prove. He made 15 appearances before camps were shutdown and was hitting .217 at the time with one home run and four RBI. Of his five hits in Spring Training, three of them went for extra bases, two doubles and one home run, as fans got a glimpse of what their future may look like at Shortstop.
Cruz has shown an increase in power over the last two seasons and that might lead to him being able to explore other positions. If he does stick at shortstop and makes it to the Major Leagues, he would be the tallest man to ever play the position at 6'7. However, many experts are thinking that he will eventually move to an outfield position as he matures with both his size and his speed projecting him as a corner outfielder. He has a cannon of an arm grading out at a 70 while having speed ranking at 55, both are strong outfield tools. This might also be a move that benefits the Pirates down the road with Cole Tucker set to take over as the Shortstop of ther future sooner rather than later.
However, it all depends on how Cruz's development goes at Double A this season. He was optioned to the Curve as part of the first round of Spring Training cuts and will be starting his first full season at the Double A level. As he enters his age 20 season, it will be a big year in terms of development and could be one that determines his path to the Major League level. Cruz will be in a Pirates uniform soon, and hopefully he can jump in and take the league by storm.
Prediction: .286, 6 HR, 34 RBI (Triple A)
While Cruz will start the year with Double A Altoona, I don't think it will be long before he starts getting reps at Triple A. His development has gone well at every level of Minor League baseball and he has shown the ability to adjust. I agree with the experts that I do not think he will be a shortstop for the Pirates, but rather a corner outfielder and possibly the predecessor to Gregory Polanco. Cruz's speed and arm strength are both important in the Pittsburgh Pirates outfield, so look for Cruz to be getting more and more reps as an outfielder rather than a shortstop as he continues to develop.
As of now, the season is expected to begin somewhere around May 25th. Until then, we will continue to look at the men who make up this year's team and their contributions in 2020.
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