Few players in baseball can hit a baseball harder than Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz. The six-foot-seven, 240-pound 27-year-old tantalizes with the potential his massive tools bring to the table.
In 2025, Cruz showed just how loud those tools can be. His average bat speed came in at a whopping 78.8 miles per hour, a 100th percentile mark. Unsurprisingly, that vicious bat speed yielded a 100th percentile average exit velocity, clocking in at 95.8 miles per hour. Cruz also posted a 98th percentile hard hit rate (56.6%) and a 97th percentile barrel rate (17.9%).
New teammate Brandon Lowe took note of Cruz's unique skills in some post-trade comments that are sure to fire fans up, while also giving hope for what the lineup as a whole can look like when working in unison.