Oneil Cruz Stats
- Height / Weight
- 6' 7" / 215 lbs.
- Date of Birth (Age)
- 10/4/1998 (25)
- Experience
- 3
- College
- None
Oneil Cruz Season Stats
Last 10 Games
Oneil Cruz News
Shortstop Oneil Cruz is not in the Pittsburgh Pirates lineup on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels. The Pirates shortstop will not be in the lineup due to Los Angeles starting left-hander Patrick Sandoval. Cruz, who bats left-handed, has struggled against left-handers this season, as he's slashing .132/.154/.211. With Cruz out of the lineup, Pittsburgh will be starting Alika Williams at shortstop, who will be batting ninth. Williams is slashing .275/.310/.400 this season. Cruz should be back in the lineup on Wednesday with a right-hander pitcher on the mound for the Angels. The shortstop will also be available off the bench as a pinch-hitter on Tuesday.
Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz (rest) is out of the starting lineup ahead of Tuesday's game against the Oakland Athletics. This appears to be a routine rest day for the left-handed slugger. Cruz is slashing .094/.121/.094 against left-handed pitchers this season, so it makes sense that they'd give him the night off against southpaw Alex Wood. It'll be Alika Williams batting ninth and playing shortstop on Tuesday.
Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz has been slipped down to the eight-hole for Saturday's contest against the Boston Red Sox and right-hander Kutter Crawford. The 25-year-old has hit out of the seven spot on occasion this season, but the eight-hole is the lowest spot in the order he has started at so far while he has largely served as the team's leadoff hitter. However, he's off to a sluggish start at the plate, hitting .222 with three homers, one stolen base, and a .605 OPS across his first 85 trips to the plate on the young season. Even with a massive 40% strikeout rate against only a 4.7% walk rate, fantasy managers should continue to exercise patience, as Cruz ranks in the 88th percentile in average exit velocity and the 89th percentile in hard-hit rate to this point in the season.
Batting Order
1 | Andrew McCutchen |
2 | Bryan Reynolds |
3 | Connor Joe |
4 | Oneil Cruz |
5 | Edward Olivares |
6 | Nick Gonzales |
7 | Jared Triolo |
8 | Joey Bart |
9 | Michael A. Taylor |
Oneil Cruz Stats
Last 10 Games
Batting Order
1 | Andrew McCutchen |
2 | Bryan Reynolds |
3 | Connor Joe |
4 | Oneil Cruz |
5 | Edward Olivares |
6 | Nick Gonzales |
7 | Jared Triolo |
8 | Joey Bart |
9 | Michael A. Taylor |
The hype train for Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz steamed right on into the 2023 season, only to see it come to a screeching halt just nine games in with a fractured ankle. During his 2022 call-up, it took a while to really get rolling, posting an 85 wRC+ in June, 70 in July, 89 in August, then finally breaking out with a 146 wRC+ in September/October. The final line was .233-17-54-45-10 with a .320 WOBA and 105 wRC+ in about half of a season's worth of action (361 PA, 87 games). The 35% K% from 2022 needs to come down, but he offered a glimmer of hope in the small 2023 sample, collecting seven BB to eight K in 40 PA (20.0% K%). The fleet-footed Cruz had a 98th-percentile sprint speed in 2022, so a full season of bigger bases and limited pitcher disengagements will be exciting to watch. FGDC projections are modest, with a .251-23-64-79-19 line, a WOBA of .338, and wRC+ of 110 in only 128 G (553 PA). RotoBaller ranks the 25-year-old at 80 overall, on par with his NFBC ADP. If he can manage closer to 145 G in the leadoff spot, he could easily finish Top-7 at his position.