PITTSBURGH — Oneil Cruz almost had an extra-base hit on his first swing Friday in opposition to Grayson Rodriguez, however the Pirates shortstop simply pulled it foul.
Rodriguez adopted with a changeup on the surface a part of the plate, and Cruz went with the pitch and flared it to left for a base hit. Two innings later, Rodriguez once more attacked the surface a part of the plate, and Cruz beat the shift on an infield single to 3rd base.
Cruz didn’t take the bait, although, going with the pitches for a few base hits earlier than catching a changeup down the center his third time up, which he was in a position to put into the seats in proper. He pounced on a mistake pitch for the large blast, but it surely was the 2 pitches he hit to the left facet of the sector that make him really feel like he’s in a great spot offensively.
“It’s going to be an adjustment that you just guys will see this yr as a result of [in] 2022, in my thoughts, I used to be simply hitting the ball to the precise facet of the sector,” Cruz stated, by way of interpreter and coach Stephen Morales. “Yeah, as a hitter you mature, positively I’ve to make use of the entire discipline after I hit.”
The Orioles aren’t the primary group to pitch Cruz outdoors. In 2022, 19.9% of the pitches he noticed have been on the outer third of the strike zone, in comparison with simply 13.5% on the inner-third. Pitchers know they need to be cautious with him due to his uncooked energy potential.
However proper now, if he’s seeking to make an influence, maybe the easiest way to create these optimum pitches to tug is to point out that he’s keen to take what he’s given first.
“I feel it’s a concerted effort to ensure he stays inside himself,” stated supervisor Derek Shelton. “Once you come to the large leagues and also you’re a man his measurement [that] has the flexibility to hit the ball so far as he does, the pure response is to see how far you possibly can hit the ball.
“[Hitting coach] Andy [Haines] and our group have accomplished a great job making him understand that there’s numerous the sector to make use of … If he makes use of the opposite facet of the sector, I feel we noticed with the one floor ball, you’re not going to throw him out — if he places the ball on the bottom and infielders need to go a technique or one other. It’s simply the maturation of him as a hitter.”
The outcomes to this point communicate for themselves. Cruz has 11 hits to this point this season, and 7 of them have been on the left facet of the diamond. That doesn’t essentially imply he’s buying and selling away energy, as his Opening Day dwelling run in opposition to the Marlins’ Sixto Sánchez exhibits he can nonetheless clear the fence that manner.
Whereas the season continues to be very younger, it seems as if Cruz has matured as a hitter since 2022, regardless of being restricted to only 9 video games in 2023 attributable to a left ankle fracture. He cycles by way of three bat sizes relying on the pitcher and the way exhausting they throw. He’s working to shorten up his swing in opposition to offspeed pitches and two-strike counts to attempt to make extra contact. He’s proven extra two-handed swings early this season, which will help with bat management.
Cruz may in the future obtain the 30-homer, 30-steal season that he set for himself earlier than the 2023 marketing campaign, however proper now, he’s setting forth on attaining his 2024 objectives of being out there for his group and contributing.
“It’s all the time a blessing to be again on the sector,” Cruz stated. “Then to only be on the identical discipline with my teammates. It feels fairly good.”
Cruz has the potential to be the most important bat within the Pirates’ lineup, but when he’s going to do this, he is aware of he can’t all the time pull the ball.
“Undoubtedly a great signal to have the ability to go the opposite manner,” Cruz stated. “Meaning as a hitter that you’re in a very great place. Which you can simply use the entire discipline. It feels actually good proper now.”
