There is a player who has absolutely been running his way through the Pirates minor league system. Cherrington hid him well enough that no other teams could claim him in the Rule 5 draft while simultaneously playing him enough to hone his craft. While he hasn’t gotten a ton of at bats so far this year at Altoona, and Indianapolis, I think he has the physical skill set to make an impact on the major league roster. This player that I’m talking about, his name is Oneil Cruz.
I was as shocked as you were when I learned that the Pirates had a player like this in their minor league system. But lo and behold this past week he shot through the Pirates farm system like no player I’ve seen since Konnor Griffin. He even made the rare move to go from AAA to AA, and I’m not talking about batteries. An unconventional move to be sure, but then again, there’s nothing conventional about this guy.
If the Pirates have any chance at all of getting back into the playoff race, they need a guy like this now and they need him to make a major impact at the major league level. Other than a Mets and Marlins blowout, things have not been very great offensively for us to say the least. Cruz has the power and the speed that can carry this offense on his own. But even if he doesn’t, his presence is enough to help out the other guys in the lineup.
I say Cherrington should give this kid a shot and give him the call up. He might be the spark we need. At this point, what do we have to lose?
