Oneil Cruz

Rarely has a 38 plate-appearance sample shifted the perceived value of a player to the extent we've seen with Cruz. He had a very strong run at Double-A last season, hitting .292/.346/.536 with 12 home runs, 18 steals, a 23.4 K% and 7.3 BB% in 62 games. Cruz was then rewarded with a six-game run at Triple-A followed by two games in the majors. He hit .466 with six home runs, nine strikeouts and eight walks in those eight games and propelled himself into the top 300 of early NFBC ADP in the process. His most bankable fantasy-relevant tool is 70-grade raw power that he utilizes to all fields. Cruz's lanky 6-foot-7 frame enables him to leverage the ball in a manner matched by few sluggers in the history of the game. His long levers will always lead to plenty of strikeouts, but he is not stiff at the plate and he has the flexibility to golf out balls below his knees for home runs. Cruz's physical dimensions make it impossible to confidently project his hit tool, and the massive gap in pitching quality at Triple-A and the majors can't be overstated. While his run at Triple-A and the majors can't be thrown out completely, his Double-A performance is a more relevant data point. Pittsburgh figures to give him the keys at shortstop early this season and while his plus-plus raw power and plus speed give him a very high power/speed ceiling, his batting average as a rookie could be anywhere from the .181 Jarred Kelenic logged to something above .250. Read Past Outlooks