The Pirates went 3-2 over the last week, closing out a series win against the Reds, before losing a three game series over the weekend against the Atlanta Braves. This week’s Statcast Heroes looks at the best performances at the big league level, along with some pitching depth emerging in the minors.
Another Monster Shot From Oneil Cruz
The Pirates won 4-2 on Sunday, led by a home run by Oneil Cruz that traveled 452 feet at 117.3 MPH. This was the second week in a row that Cruz has hit a home run 445+ feet at 112+ MPH. It’s almost a weekly occurrence that Cruz hits a baseball with an exit velocity of 116 MPH or harder.
I wrote over the weekend about what leads to Cruz’s power, and how he looks like the best active mindset player in the game. His passive mode has some questions, but when Cruz turns it on, the ball travels far.
Luis Ortiz Whiffs 19
With the Pirates short on starters, Luis Ortiz has really stepped up. This past week he allowed one run in six innings, with no walks and seven strikeouts. Ortiz picked up 19 whiffs during the outing. He had seven on the slider, four on the cutter, five on the fastball, and three on the sinker.
Ortiz has been used in the rotation and extended relief over the last month, helping to fill in the injured rotation. He has a 3.22 ERA in 22.1 innings across five appearances, with a 19:2 K/BB ratio.
Liover Peguero Hitting the Ball Hard
Liover Peguero had four of the hardest hit balls in Triple-A this past week, along with the furthest hit ball for Indianapolis. Peguero hit four balls between 106 and 107 MPH, but had some unfortunate luck, with two lineouts in the same game. His best hit was a 416 foot home run that traveled 106.7 MPH.
Peguero finished the month of June batting .253/.294/.418 on the month. He hasn’t been hitting consistently since starting the season hot in April. Since the start of May, Peguero has a .249/.332/.367 line in Triple-A. He also hasn’t consistently shown up in the Statcast leaders, so this week was a positive sign.
