This story was excerpted from Alex Stumpf’s Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Before every game, outfield and baserunning coach Tarrik Brock reminds center fielder Oneil Cruz to do four things: play quick, play fast, play happy and make good decisions.
It’s a guiding principle to help him reach his potential regardless of who his competition is. That’s good, because his competition is usually Brock.
Cruz is still learning center field after moving from shortstop last August, and with any positional change, there’s going to be some ups and downs and plenty of instruction. Brock is at the center of the coaching aspect, and he takes a very hands-on approach, making it into a game.
The rules are simple. Cruz sets up shaded to either left- or right-center and Brock takes the other side (they’ll switch sides at some point, too). During a round or two of batting practice, they keep track of how many fly balls and line drives they can catch. If Cruz tracks down and catches at least three more balls than Brock, he wins.
“It forces a lot of things,” Brock explained. “Reading the player, going after balls, competing, when you get tired, still going after the balls. Everything you’re going to experience in the game happens in practice.”
There are different ways to get reps catching fly balls, but batting practice has an obvious appeal because most of the hits are deep fly balls and line drives. It’s not simulated or a machine, it’s a look at how the ball is really going to be flying off the bat.
“That game has helped me so much because he’s pushing me to get better jumps, take better directions,” Cruz said, via interpreter and coach Stephen Morales. “It’s just a fun way to get reads off the bat in BP, and I think it’s doing really good [things] for me.”
The results are speaking for themselves. Cruz got off to a rocky start in the field this season, but has improved as the year has progressed. Since the start of May, Cruz has been worth 3 Outs Above Average in the field, according to Baseball Savant. The only Pirate who has graded better than him in that stretch is Ke’Bryan Hayes (4 OAA).
He has the physical tools to be an elite defender. His arm strength is in the 100% percentile of position players this year, averaging 97.7 mph on his top 10% of throws. He has elite speed too, averaging a sprint speed of 28.9 mph, putting him in the 91st percentile. He has the tools, and like we’ve seen with his offense and baserunning, it’s about helping him translate those gifts into the game.
With Brock, it’s done by showing he is willing to do whatever he is going to ask of his pupil, and make sure they have fun doing it.
“I provide a lot of comedy because I’m 51 and he’s in his 20s,” Brock said. “After one catch, I’m on one knee, like I’m Boys II Men and he’s laughing. I’m on bended knee! If he can see me make a fool of myself for the betterment of someone, then he can do it too.”
This week, Cruz has left more people in awe of his defense than in stitches. On Tuesday, he robbed Victor Caratini of a double by making a ranging catch in right-center. That ball had a 55% catch probability. In San Diego, he made a pair of ranging catches in left-center that also had 55% catch probabilities. Even the best defenders don’t tend to rack up three-star plays by the bushel.
“Cruzy, there has been a learning curve there,” Paul Skenes, Tuesday’s starter, said. “I think it’s past now. I would not be surprised if he’s well known as the best center fielder in the game in a year or two.”
Cruz was taught early in his career that he can learn something every day. He has a drive to be great, and he isn’t afraid to show it at the plate or the field.
“That’s the way I play,” Cruz said. “That’s the way I want to go out there and try to project myself in front of people who maybe have never seen me play before. I want to leave a good impression when they go home. That’s the way I want to be every night.”
If he continues down this path, that goal will be realized.
“We want to see stuff right away, and that’s totally unfair to a guy,” Brock said. “When you plant seeds, they don’t grow right away. You’ve still got to tend to it, water it. Now we’re starting to see some fruit. I can’t wait for this tree to just produce a bunch of fruit that just falls off and lands on the ground.”