Pirates hoping Oneil Cruz turns Home Run Derby success into superstardom

Andrew McCutchen watched Oneil Cruz crush majestic moonshots in the Home Run Derby, absolutely stealing the show at the All-Star Game festivities in Atlanta, and allowed his mind to drift.

If the Pittsburgh Pirates icon has one wish, it’s that the mercurial 6-foot-7, 240-pound center fielder can learn to tap into his tantalizing talent to become an All-Star and shine in the spotlight.

“I’m hoping that can motivate him because he’s a superstar, man. He can have superstar status and, honestly, have the world at his grasp,” McCutchen said. “A lot of people wish they had that talent, wish they could hold onto it. Even I think about it myself: ‘Man, if I had those tools, that size and frame, that type of power with the way that I think…’ ”

McCutchen didn’t have to say it, but knows that there wouldn’t even be a debate about whether he was worthy of the Hall of Fame. The five-time All-Star and 2013 National League MVP wondered what motivates Cruz, who has topped Statcast leaders for his laser-like throws and for the exit velocities on the hardest hits since baseball started recording such statistics in 2015 but has been frustratingly inconsistent.

“Part of me wonders what his mind is thinking,” McCutchen said. “It’s great that he can do that, and that he has people like Vladdy and Acuna, guys of that stature putting their hands on their head like they’ve never seen anything like that before. …

“Part of me is hoping that he’s like, ‘Man, that was cool. I had a great time. I want more of it.’ Maybe that is what can push him over that hump of being that player that we all know that he can be. Obviously, in a perfect world, he can do that here, now and while I’m still here. I would love to be a part of it, too.”

Entering Saturday’s game, Cruz was batting .216 but led the Pirates in home runs, walks, stolen bases, slugging percentage and OPS. Pirates manager Don Kelly believes consistency is what separates Cruz from going from Home Run Derby participant to All-Star and that getting a taste of the Midsummer Classic will propel him into stardom. Cruz hit 21 home runs in the first round and had the longest homer in Derby history (outside of Colorado’s Coors Field) with a 513-foot blast to become the first Pirates player to advance to its second round before being eliminated by MLB home runs leader Cal Raleigh.

“I hope it does,” Kelly said. “The power is unbelievable that we saw: 513 feet. It was impressive. He put on a show. … We get to see it every day, but, hopefully, he starts to see that he belongs on that stage.”

Kelly doesn’t subscribe to the theory that participating in the Home Run Derby would adversely affect Cruz’s swing. In fact, Kelly believes just the opposite: Cruz might have rediscovered the stroke that disappeared in June, when he had a .176/.283/.297 slash line with three homers and nine RBIs.

“This is just my opinion, that it freed him up to be more athletic and free instead of trying to think his way through an at-bat,” Kelly said. “That’s what we’ve been talking to him about, is going up there and being athletic and staying in the zone, staying on a fastball and allowing yourself to react to the off-speed stuff. He hasn’t gotten any fastballs. That’s something that has changed for him, is he hasn’t gotten many fastballs. You still need to be ready for it because they’ve been stunning him late in the count. How do we stay ready for the fastball even though we’re not getting it a lot? And stay in the zone to be able to handle the off-speed, as well.”

Cruz’s body language can betray him, as he’s drawn criticism for the occasional lapses in the field, on the basepaths or in the batter’s box that can tend to be viewed as a lackadaisical approach to the game. McCutchen offered an explanation for how Cruz is perceived.

“The challenge for me and I’m sure the staff, the people that he’s close with, is finding what is it that gets him to go? What is it that gets him to click and do it more consistently, not just in bits and pieces, in spurts or moments?” McCutchen said. “Because to a lot of people it seems like he’s either there fully committed and then he has days when it seems like he’s not, that it seems like he’s lazy or whatever. People can say that, but I watch him every day. He cares a lot, and he doesn’t like to make mistakes. When things don’t go his way, it seems like he’ll put that added pressure and try to make up for a mistake and things sometimes go a little crazy for him. It’s more that he cares than it is he doesn’t. If he cares more, he might put a little more added pressure on himself. Sometimes, when the game is flowing, things are clicking for him. He cares just as much, but we’re seeing results and he’s having positive results. It’s about finding a fine line between the two of them.”

Two-time All-Star right-hander Paul Skenes, who was standing on the field at Truist Park and got an up-close glimpse of Cruz during the Home Run Derby, also came to his defense.

“Motivation, for me, is BS. It’s like work ethic: You either have it or you don’t. It’s the bare minimum. I’m saying that to say that Oneil is motivated, maybe a little misunderstood,” Skenes said. “I think just experiencing that might give him a different type of motivation. …

“For me, last year, (All-Star week was) an intoxicating experience. You’re at the All-Star Game with the game’s best, and he was the show. I would argue that the Home Run Derby is as much of a show as the All-Star Game.”

Skenes is considered untouchable at the trade deadline, and McCutchen believes the Pirates should be building around Skenes and Cruz as the franchise cornerstones.

“They should be key names to build around and go for it. That’s what it’s all about,” McCutchen said. “You don’t have two generational talents in one clubhouse. You don’t get that all the time. Not that I’m calling them this at all, by any means, but the first names that pop into my head: You don’t have too many Mike Trouts and Shohei Ohtanis on the same team.”

McCutchen is aware that the Los Angeles Angels never reached the postseason with Trout and Ohtani despite the duo winning a combined five AL MVP awards. McCutchen doesn’t want the same fate for the Pirates while Skenes and Cruz remain under club control.

Skenes already has shown he can handle superstardom. Now, it’s time for Cruz to take a step forward and maximize his enormous potential.

“I hope it happens. I hope it happens for him,” McCutchen said. “I’d love for it to be here. I don’t want it to be somewhere else and be like, ‘Oh, I knew it!’ I want it to be right here, right now.”