PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It seems like everyone has gotten a shot at hitting leadoff for the Pirates this year, their most electric player gets his opportunity right now.
Oneil Cruz is batting first on Tuesday and will be for a stretch of games and then its future will be determined based on results.
“I’ve tried a bunch of different people there,” said Pirates manager Derek Shelton before Tuesday’s game with Washington. “Some people had strong thoughts on him going there. He’s done it before. Just trying to find what works.”
Over his career Cruz has had some of his best numbers there. His 10 home runs and three triples are most of any position in the order and his .264 average and .804 OPS is second only to hitting .267 and .852 OPS batting seventh. Cruz had his most opportunities batting third, 332 at bats, but leadoff is second with 216. The 26-year-old has at least four at bats at every spot in the order. His biggest numbers are in the three spot, but that’s also his most at bats.
Shelton said where the 6’7” centerfielder is in the order should not affect his approach. He said it should help Bryan Reynolds see more pitches in the two spot and his nine stolen bases would historically slot him into the top spot. Cruz is the eighth different leadoff hitter and the team has played 17 games.
On Monday, Cruz hit a 115 mile-an-hour rope caught by the shortstop, as the first Bucs batter. He would then have two hits in his next four at bats including a double.
“Right now, we are trying to get our offense going,” Shelton said. “We tried a couple of different people there, didn’t work. Tried him there, it worked for a night. Hope that sparks us a bit.”
Aaron Judge (128 at bats) has hit leadoff. 5’11”, 229-pound Kyle Schwarber leads off for the Phillies with a .227 average with 155 home runs and 16 stolen bases. 235-pound Yandy Diaz leads off for Tampa Bay with four career stolen bases.
Cruz does have qualities you like hitting first, but at this point it’s not about trying to set a standard, it’s about trying to bring some jump to a lineup that has mostly struggled all year.