PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz’s name seemed to become synonymous with miles per hour this year. He hit the hardest ball in MLB in 2022 at 122.4 mph. That was the plan for Cruz.
“To be honest with you, that was a goal,” Cruz said Wednesday. “That was a personal goal of mine to break the Statcast numbers. That’s something I’m going to continue to challenge myself in.”
“I want to be a unique player. I want to do the things no one else is doing. I want to be able to stand out. More than anything, I want to be dominant with who I am, a ballplayer and what I bring to the team.”
This is a guy who’s played in 89 MLB games. His numbers would pace to over 30 home runs and 100 RBI. That’s a low bar for the 24-year-old.
“I feel l can do even more,” Cruz said intently. “Many more home runs than 30, many more RBI than what you considered and more than anything, just a way better batting average.”
“It’s hard not to look at projections and look at how hard he hits the ball,” said Pirates Manager Derek Shelton. “The growth that we’ve seen in just his ability to swing at strikes over the last month. That’s extremely encouraging. That’s the thing we need to build on. One guy in the game hits the ball as hard as he does.”
“If you continue to see the lines of growth in terms of swing decisions, he’s going to continue to put up big numbers.”
Cruz said through interpreter Mike Gonzalez he will not rest this offseason. He wants to continue to work hard and continue to improve. Cruz says he has another level he wants to show, especially on defense.
“Primarily my throws, just making sure I’m getting better with my throws,” Cruz said. “The routine plays, just become a master of it. Don’t let any routine plays get out of my grip. If anything, be able to dominate the routine plays and make sure my throws are always on point.”
“His feet, we’ve seen when he’s made the errors this year whether they are fielding or throwing, he gets flat-footed,” Shelton said. “He has to keep his feet moving. He has to keep working in rhythm. He’s gotten better, there is still room for growth.”
Asked about it for years, Cruz gets visibly annoyed when asked about staying at shortstop. Shelton wouldn’t commit to him being the guy at short next year, but assuming the defense is better, hard to imagine them not making Cruz the everyday starter at short.
“I feel like I was already able to demonstrate that I can play shortstop at the big-league level,” Cruz said. “The mindset right now is just to continue getting better and continue to master my position. Like I’ve told many people in the past, that’s my position. That’s a position I always see myself playing. That’s a position that I love.”
“I just believe, more than anything, I have what it takes to play big league shortstop up here.”
Under team control until 2028 Cruz says he doesn’t concern himself with a contract right now or what that might mean to his status with the team. While having All-Stars Bryan Reynolds and David Bednar and Ke’Bryan Hayes signed to an eight-year contract, it’s a team looking for ‘that’ player.
Cruz said he’ll be that guy.
“I would love to be the face of this franchise, but I understand I have a lot of work to do,” Cruz said. “I have to work hard and continue to work hard for that.”