On the very first pitch of Saturday night’s matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz crushed his eighth home run of the season. It was also his fourth leadoff homer of the year, the most by any player in Major League Baseball.
Cruz’s blistering start to the 2024 season has landed him in elite company. He’s now just the third player in MLB history to record at least eight home runs and 12 stolen bases within the first 25 games, joining Eric Davis (1987) and Brian Roberts (2005).
Earlier this month, manager Derek Shelton made the surprising decision to move Cruz to the top of the batting order.
“I’ve tried several different guys there. I’ve had conversations with a lot of people, and there were some strong opinions about putting him in that spot,” Shelton said. “He’s done it before. We’re just looking for something that clicks. We’ll probably keep running him out there and see how it goes.”
One major factor behind the move is to get Cruz more plate appearances. Typically, a power hitter like Cruz would bat in the heart of the lineup, but with the Pirates’ offense struggling, it doesn’t make sense to bat him third or fourth when he often comes up with no runners on base.
Additionally, hitting leadoff means Cruz is less likely to be pitched around. Pitchers prefer not to start games by issuing a walk, so he’s more likely to see pitches he can attack. For a hitter with a concerning strikeout-to-walk ratio, this setup ensures at least one at-bat each game where the pitcher is focused on filling the strike zone.
Whether Cruz will remain the leadoff hitter all season is still uncertain, but for now, the move is paying off, and there’s little reason to expect Shelton to change course any time soon.
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