Cruz's Power Surge Lights Up Pirates

0:00It's April 24th. You're listening to MLB News today, AI-powered baseball coverage. I'm Cory with the story. O'Neill Cruz is lighting it up for the Pittsburgh Pirates this 2026 season, smashing eight home runs in just 25 games. That puts him right up there with Pirates Legends like Willie Stargell and Jeff King as one of the few to hit that many so early in the modern era. Even in the 6-1 loss to the Texas Rangers on April 23rd, Cruz crushed a solo shot off Psy Young winner, Jacob DeGrom, his only offense that night. Earlier this week against the Rangers, Cruz stayed clutch across the three game series. He grabbed three key hits in 13 at bats, including a lead off single that led to a run in the opener and a three run homer in the nightcap that sealed in 8-4 win. Nearly had another bomb robbed by their centerfielder, but he made sure the next one cleared 422 feet. Starting off a rough 2025 where he hit just 200 average. The worst among qualified hitters, Cruz is flipping the script.

1:03Pirates fans hope for this breakout, and he's delivering with a 284 average 0.348 on base 0.569. Slugging for a 0.917 OPS, plus 10 stolen bases tied for the National League lead, dig deeper, and his turnaround against lefties stands out. Last year he managed a 102 average vs. South Pals, now he's slashing 375 over 1.225 OPS with 4 homers in, 32 at bats. Those 23 RBI's also land him among elite early season pirates performers, echoing Stargil and Reynolds. Pirates brass had to love seeing Cruz work like this in spring training, and if he keeps the pedal down, it could turn their season around for real.