Mueller: How good will Cruz be? How about better than McCutchen

The Pittsburgh Pirates are – please sit down before continuing onward – not good.

As of this writing, the team is 31-45 possessors of a modest two-game winning streak, which was immediately preceded by a five-game losing streak, which itself came on the heels of a 4-1 stretch that coincided with Oneil Cruz’s long-awaited 2022 call-up.

Cruz flashed a flair for the dramatic, thrilling the crowd with a 2-for-5, 4 RBI season debut, one that was as much about his feats of eye-popping athleticism as it was the numbers.

Here’s the thing, though; it doesn’t matter if this year’s team is good. Actually, it’s fine if they’re not. If they lose 100 games, it won’t bother me, because Cruz, unless he suddenly looks completely and totally overmatched, is here to stay.

That means that the climb upward has begun. And Cruz strikes me as precisely the type of player who can take the franchise to new heights. That doesn’t mean he will – Mike Trout still hasn’t won a playoff game – but I can’t help but watch the guy and think that big things are in the future.

How big? How about this: I think Oneil Cruz will end up having a better Pirates career than Andrew McCutchen. Yes, that would be the same Andrew McCutchen who finished third, first, third and fifth in National League MVP voting from 2012-2015. His peak with the Pirates wasn’t particularly long, but it was outstanding.

I think Cruz can, and will, be better, whether he sticks at shortstop or has to move to a corner outfield spot. Why? There are a few reasons.

-The first one should be obvious: Look at him, for crying out loud. He’s every bit of 6’7”, and unlike some tall, lanky baseball players – looking across the ocean at you, Gregory Polanco – Cruz looks like a top-drawer athlete, and not someone trying to grow into his body, or harness skills he was unaware he possessed. Hyper-athletic and fully aware of how good he can be? That’s a scary combination.

-Then there’s the swagger. When I watch Cruz, I feel that I’m watching a player who expects to dominate every game he’s in regardless of who the opposition is. As I write this, he’s hitting under .220 for the season. That attitude, though, has me pretty convinced that Cruz isn’t going to get dejected by some early hiccups.

-About that attitude, that swagger. Producing is what matters, sure, but let’s not pretend that mindset doesn’t also matter when it comes to the Pirates. A.J. Burnett’s take-no-crap demeanor was a huge part of the franchise’s run of prosperity from 2013-2015, and McCutchen’s gregarious-but-intense approach changed how people outside Pittsburgh viewed the team.

-As big as Cruz is, there don’t seem to be major holes in his swing, at least not ones that big-league pitchers have found. He has struggled so far against lefties, and chased pitches he shouldn’t have, but that’s to be expected, particularly for someone whose stated goal is to hit the ball as hard as possible, as often as possible. Got to break a few eggs to make an omelet, and all. Otherwise, when you watch Cruz swing, what you see isn’t a great athlete trying to make it work in baseball, it’s a natural baseball player who happens to be a phenomenally gifted athlete. Big difference.

-Lastly, he has the “wow” factor – even for his teammates. Cruz has two home runs this year. The first was a comically absurd line drive shot in Washington last week. The ball came off his bat at nearly 110 miles per hour, and was launched at a mere 19 degrees. In other words, it was a laser beam. The second was an absolute no-doubter Thursday night against the Brewers. The official measurement was 431 feet, but it felt a lot further than that, and a lot more than just one home run. It was more of a “look what I can do, and I haven’t even started to really figure things out” display. Any cut to the bench after a Cruz highlight features players with looks of delight, incredulity and amusement. He has the kind of talent that makes teammates believe, which is kind of important, if you haven’t heard.

The Pirates might bottom out, record-wise, this year. It’s possible that they end up with a worse record than last year’s 61-101 outfit. But when it comes to their rebuilding effort, they’ve already hit bottom and are starting their way up, mainly because Oneil Cruz is here.

Claiming that he’ll have a better Pirates career than Andrew McCutchen? It’s a leap, I know. But no one thought McCutchen would turn out the way he did, and Cruz has an inarguably higher ceiling. My gut tells me that he’s going to reach that ceiling, and that the Pirates will benefit greatly when he does.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Mueller: How good will Cruz be? How about better than McCutchen