Oneil Cruz's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz came up clutch for his team during Sunday's game against the Atlanta Braves. The 25-year-old smacked a 452-foot two-run home run off Spencer Schwellenbach in the fifth inning to give the Pirates the lead. Cruz finished the day 2-for-3 with two RBI and a walk in the victory. The potential is there, but Cruz has experienced an up-and-down campaign thus far. Despite that, fantasy managers should continue to stick with him.

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz swatted his 11th homer of the year in Monday's 11-5 loss at the Cincinnati Reds. Cruz, whose homer went an estimated 458 feet, finished 2-for-5 with three RBI as he went deep for the second time in three games. Despite the recent power surge, Cruz is slashing .243/.296/.433 with 34 RBI, 34 runs scored, and six stolen bases in seven attempts. Brimming with talent, Cruz is a fantasy staple since he's capable of contributing in a variety of categories. On the flip side, fantasy managers have to endure Cruz's stretches of swinging and missing as he is on pace to strike out 189 times.

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz went 1-for-3 with a walk and his 10th home run of the season, a 445-foot blast into the Allegheny River, in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Rays. Cruz was batting .295 in June until a 1-for-13 stretch over his last four games, so he's back to hitting just .250 in June. For the season, the 25-year-old owns a .243/.295/.427 slashline. His OBP is so low partly because his BB% is below-average at 6.9%, but his SLG is high because, on the back of an 18.1% Barrel%, they tend to go for extra bases when he hits it. A 32.7% K% and 68.7% Contact% are going to limit his batting average, so hopefully he can keep slugging. Fantasy managers who drafted the Dominican surely were hoping for better than a 99 wRC+ season, however.

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz went 2-for-5 with a three-run homer and a stolen base in an 11-7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. Cruz added a pair of runs and three RBI to his line, giving him an excellent evening at the dish. It hasn't been great of late for the talented infielder, who had gone 15 games in a row without a homer and 14 in a row without a steal before this one. Considering those are the two categories that fantasy managers drafted him for, it's been a bit of a disaster lately. That being said, if Cruz can find his stroke he can go on a tear that few other players can, making him a must-roster player even when he isn't doing much well.

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz will take a seat on the bench for the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader in Detroit against the Tigers with a left-handed pitcher on the mound. Alika Williams will start at shortstop and will bat in the nine-hole against Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal. Fantasy managers should expect to have Cruz back for the second game of the twin bill to face right-hander Keider Montero, who will be making his MLB debut. The 25-year-old Cruz has been a little better in May with a .260 average (20-for-77) with four home runs, 11 RBI and a stolen base in 20 games played. His power/speed combination makes him relevant in all fantasy formats when he's on the field. Williams has very little offensive prowess and therefore should be avoided in DFS lineups against a tough southpaw.