The last four games were victories for the Pittsburgh Pirates where Oneil Cruz hit one home run, three RBIs and four runs in 10 at bats. That is a top notch production for a young player like him, so far the season is good for Cruz.

But the Pirates haven’t won a big title since 1979 and the worst part is that the team hasn’t made the playoffs for more than six years, the last time was in 2015 when they lost in the wild card round against the Chicago Cubs.

Why Oneil Cruz is considered a top MLB player?

First of all he is one of the top prospects in the MLB right now, this is his second season with the Pirates where his full talent is showing up. The second advantage Oneil Cruz has over all players from his same position (shortstop) is athleticism and his powerful arm like no other, plus Cruz is the tallest shortstop in MLB history.

Cruz has enough time to prove that he is worthy of the NL Rookie of the Year award despite spending the first two months of the season playing in a Triple-A league. Other favorites like Nolan Gorman and Seiya Suzuki have a bit more playing time in the current season.

So far Cruz’s production is formidable with 4 home runs, 12 runs, 17 hits and 16 RBI in 78 at bats. He is averaging .218 which is a good sign since there are still three months left in the season for him to add more stats to win the award.