Oneil Cruz Continues To Make His Presence Felt At The Plate

Ever since Oneil Cruz was recalled by the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, he has been generating a ton of buzz.

He picked up two hits in his first game of the 2022 season on Monday night, ran the bases well, and made some pretty impressive plays out in the field as the Pirates rolled to a 12-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

He was at it again last night, picking up a hit and driving in a run as the Bucs defeated the North Siders by a final of 7-1.

Pirates announcer Joe Block tweeted an interesting little fact about Cruz, mentioning that he is the first Pirate with an RBI in each of his first four career games since Cookie Lavagetto did it in his first five in 1934.

Oneil Cruz is the first Pirate with an RBI in each of his first 4 career games since Cookie Lavagetto did so in his first 5 games in 1934

(via @StatsBySTATS)

— Joe Block (@joe_block) June 22, 2022

Cruz Making His Presence Felt

This is quite impressive.

It’s not too often that you see a guy put together a streak like this just a few games into his career.

But Cruz is no ordinary prospect.

He’s a guy who is going to be a key piece for the Pirates several years down the road.

He could be the first step to building the next great Pirates team around Ke’Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds.

Cruz already has a .777 OPS and is hitting for a .333 batting average with five RBI in just nine at-bats.

The Pirates are already well out of contention, but the emergence of Cruz is going to be key for them as the season progresses, as it will give them a look at what kind of player he is and what kind of team the Bucs can be with him in the lineup with Hayes and Reynolds.