Demilio: Time to Give Oneil Cruz the Respect He Deserves

It’s time to give Oneil Cruz his flowers. Actually, it’s overdue.

Cruz has often been the subject of criticism. While some has been deserved — as is the case with any player — a lot of it is not justified.

The 26-year-old is a unicorn, and it looks like it’s all coming together.

Cruz is a rare blend of power and speed. My preseason prediction of a 30/30 season looks like it could be wrong. Not because he won’t reach 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases bases, but because he might actually exceed both thresholds.

Cruz is on pace for a 40/40 season. If he continues that pace, he would be the seventh player in MLB history to get there. In fact, he’s on pace for a 40 home run/70 stolen base season, but who’s counting?

The six members of the 40/40 club? Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodríguez, Alfonso Soriano, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Shohei Ohtani. A pretty notable list.

I’m not sure what’s more impressive — his speed or his power.

Cruz stole another base for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night. He’s now 12 out of 12 this season and has been successful in 32-straight stolen base attempts dating back to last season. That’s tied with Tony Womack for the second-longest streak by a Pirate since 1922 behind only Max Carey (37, 1922-23).

Since the start of the 2023 season, Cruz is 36 out of 37 in stolen base attempts. That’s a 97.3% success rate. For his career, he’s 47 out of 52, or 90.4%. Speed helps, but so do good instincts, and a high baseball IQ in those situations.

Then there’s his power.

Cruz already has seven home runs this season. He hit a 463-foot home run against the Angels on Wednesday. That’s the fourth-longest home run in baseball this season and the second-longest in Cruz’s career. He hit a 472-foot blast last year in Arizona.

ONEIL CRUZ BLASTS A 463-FOOT HR 🤯 pic.twitter.com/8RoZlsz8EP

— MLB (@MLB) April 24, 2025

But there are even more encouraging — and not as visible — signs that Cruz’s is turning a corner.

Cruz entered the season with a career .315 on-base percentage and an 8.5% walk rate. This year, Cruz has a .359 OBP and a 13.6% walk rate. He’s also cut down his strikeout rate from 31.6% to 25.2%.

Cruz is tied for the MLB lead with 12 stolen bases and is tied for eighth with seven home runs. He ranks 12th in the National League with a .535 slugging percentage and is 13th in OPS (.894).

For a lineup that has largely underwhelmed this season, Cruz is a true difference-maker. His speed wreaks havoc on the bases and he can change the game with one swing of the bat.

And yes, the defense in center field still leaves a lot to be desired, but it also looks like it’s slightly improving of late. To Cruz’s credit, learning a brand new position is already hard enough, but going from the infield dirt to the outfield grass is an even greater challenge. I’m not sure how he will end up looking out there, but he certainly has the speed and arm strength to be a good center fielder.

There are sometimes mental lapses on defense and on the bases, and the Pirates would tell you — and have — that he needs to clean those up. But sometimes, his nonchalant nature is mistaken for a lack of effort or caring. I don’t think that’s true.

Cruz is exactly the type of player the Pirates need if they’re ever going to compete. His power is something they haven’t had in a long time. If he does reach 40 home runs this season, he would be the first 40-plus home run hitter in Pittsburgh since Willie Stargell hit 44 in 1973 — 25 years before Cruz was born.

And if I was in Ben Cherington or Bob Nutting’s shoes, not only would they be nicer than the ones I wear, but I would be trying hard to sign Cruz to an extension to keep him in the black and gold well past the 2028 season.