As the first base coach who also instructs the outfielders and baserunners for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Tarrik Brock has watched Oneil Cruz go from fracturing his ankle on an awkward slide into home plate to developing into one of the game’s most dangerous baserunners.
Entering the weekend series against the San Diego Padres, the 6-foot-7, 240-pound shortstop-turned-center fielder had 12 stolen bases without being caught. That ranked second in steals only to Cincinnati’s Elly De La Cruz’s 13 and was the most steals of any major leaguer without getting thrown out.
“The biggest thing I pay attention to is how quickly can he get that left foot across his right foot,” Brock said. “As long as it takes him nine steps and a dive, he’s good.”
With a sprint speed of 28.6 feet per second, which ranks in the 88th percentile per Statcast, Cruz makes it look effortless, like he’s gliding and sliding. Brock loves to see Cruz daring opponents on the basepaths.
“He really enjoys playing,” Brock said. “Sometimes, when he’s walking or jogging on or off the field, you don’t see it. But you see it when he gets to first. You see that presence, like when you say, ‘You can’t run on this guy,’ and he steals a base. Sometimes, I’m like, ‘No, he’s too quick. Let’s just hold.’ And he’s like, ‘I can get him.’ How can I not support that? Then he executes it. I think that’s the coolest thing ever.”
Even cooler is that Cruz is on pace to reach a lofty goal.
At the start of spring training in February 2023, Cruz boldly predicted that he wanted to join the 40-40 club. At the time, it included Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso Soriano as the only players with 40 home runs and 40 steals in a season.
Where the home run total appeared realistic given that Cruz hit 17 in 87 games as a rookie, the stolen bases seemed a stretch after he dislocated his left ankle and missed the majority of his sophomore season. Cruz had 22 stolen bases last year, as his ankle remained bothersome.
“The big key for me is that I’m healthy now,” Cruz told TribLive through interpreter Stephen Morales. “My ankle is 100%, and that’s a huge part of me having confidence, running hard and stealing bases.”
Here comes the crazy part: With eight home runs and 12 stolen bases through the first fifth of the season, Cruz could not only join the 40-40 club but come within reach of one even more exclusive. At his pace, Cruz could hit 40 homers and steal 60 bases. Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves became the first 40-70 player in major league history when he hit 41 homers and stole 73 bases in winning the 2023 NL MVP.
“For me, it’s an honor for my numbers to be hopefully compared to Acuna,” Cruz said. “We’re good friends and I admire the way he works. I go out there every day and do my best, trying to help my team win every night.”
Getting defensive
What’s mind-boggling is that Cruz has a 0.1 WAR — the same as utility infielder Jared Triolo and relievers Tim Mayza and Joey Wentz — despite leading the Pirates in homers, RBIs (17), slugging percentage (.534) and OPS (.897).
That’s a sign of his defensive deficiencies.
Cruz ranks dead last in the majors with minus-11 defensive runs saved in center, where he has committed four errors and a number of misplays from making bad reads and jumps to throwing to the wrong base.
“It has been a work in progress but I feel better in every aspect of my outfield position right now, especially on breaks to the ball,” Cruz said. “We continue to work at that.”
Brock sees improvement in Cruz, warning that “you can’t get mad when the learning curve starts curving.” Brock prefers a larger sample size than 48 games in center with which to measure Cruz’s metrics, making an analogy for the position-switch struggles that Yinzers can appreciate.
“It’s like having a new driver learning how to drive in Pittsburgh: You’ve got to learn to navigate all the potholes,” Brock said. “With that being said, if you’re a parent and your kid is coming back and the tire is jacked up because of hitting potholes, you give them a little grace. That’s what we have to do with Oneil, is give him grace. He’s learning the position at this level while trying to hit and do everything else at this level. And he’s doing well. He’s progressing. If people thought he was going to come out and be a plus-plus right away, then that’s unfair to him — and to ourselves — for thinking that way.”
Cruz is showing signs of improvement, as well as a flair for the spectacular in center. When he chased down Kyle Tucker’s line drive to make a backhanded catch at the warning track in left-center Tuesday night at PNC Park — a play with a 55% catch probability — MLB.com qualified it as a three-star catch.
“He does have baseball IQ and uses it but when anything is new, you’re going to be hesitant at times because you haven’t done it enough,” Brock said. “Now he’s getting more of those reps, so we’re starting to see him make really good decisions. Before, there was a slight adjustment that we made with the positioning depth where you’re starting to see him make better reads and make the catches around the fence where he was getting to the fence the same time as the ball was. Now he’s working hard to beat the ball to the spot as best he can.”
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Since being switched from batting third in the order to the leadoff spot April 14, Cruz batted .290/.371/.645 with four doubles, six home runs and 12 RBIs over the next 16 games.
“He’s given us a spark,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I think that has led to more consistent and better offensive at-bats throughout.”
Cruz is adamant that he doesn’t care whether he’s batting before or after Bryan Reynolds in the lineup so long as he’s productive and helping the team win, though he admits “that spot has been good to me.”
Cruz hit leadoff homers in back-to-back games against the Washington Nationals on April 17 and Cleveland Guardians on April 18, then at the Los Angeles Angels on April 24 and the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 26. He hit a leadoff double against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.
“I like having Cruz in front of me because he’s been killing the ball,” Reynolds said. “He’s been on second a lot of times, or he’ll get on first and steal second. Really dynamic, helps me out.”
What Brock wants to see is for Cruz to impose not just his will but his size and speed on the game, whether it’s hitting home runs, stealing bases or using his speed to go from first to third on a single to left. Brock believes Cruz has the talent to be even more dominant.
“He’s playing his game,” Brock said. “No matter whether he’s leading off or he’s batting fourth, he’s doing the same thing at each spot. That’s the biggest thing: Play the game you were gifted to play. He was gifted with speed. He’s gifted with length. Those have to play every single night when you’re on the bases.”
No wonder Cruz has his eyes on Atlanta, Not only is it the home of Acuna, the inaugural member of the 40-70 club, but the site of the All-Star Game in July. Cruz knows he has a long way to go, but he’s intent on translating his talent into star power.
“That’s the dream for every player,” Cruz said. “If it happens, I’ll be happy.”