Oneil Cruz named top slugger in system, as Pirates honor four minor leaguers with awards

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Oneil Cruz named top slugger in system, as Pirates honor four minor leaguers with awards

By Kevin Gorman

2 Min Read • Oct. 27, 2021 | 4 years Ago

| Wednesday, October 27, 2021 11:30 a.m.

Pittsburgh Pirates’ Oneil Cruz bats against Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Tyler Mahle during the second inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. It was the first Major League at-bat for Cruz, and he grounded out shortstop to first.

Oneil Cruz made a splash in his two-game stint with the Pittsburgh Pirates, registering the hardest-hit ball in the Statcast era and hitting his first major league home run.

The Pirates voted the 6-foot-7 shortstop, the No. 1 prospect in their farm system who posted a .970 OPS this season, as the winner of the Willie Stargell slugger of the year award. The award is named for the Hall of Famer who led the Pirates to two World Series championships, won the 1979 NL MVP and finished his 21-year career with 475 home runs.

Cruz, 23, hit a combined .310 (84-for-271) with 16 doubles, five triples, 17 home runs, 47 RBIs and a .594 slugging percentage in 68 games split between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis, where he hit five homers in six games before making his major league debut Oct. 2.

Cruz is one of four Pirates prospects who drew honors Wednesday:

The Kent Tekulve reliever of the year is Enmanuel Mejia, who went a combined 5-2 with nine saves and an 0.42 ERA in 32 relief appearances between the Low-A Bradenton Marauders and High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers. The award is named for the club’s career saves leader, who had 158 in 12 seasons and starred on the 1979 World Series champions.

The 2021 Omar Moreno baserunner of the year is High-A Greensboro outfielder Lolo Sanchez, who led all High-A East League players and the Pirates minor league system with 30 stolen bases. Sanchez was one of eight players in the minors to hit at least 17 home runs and steal at least 30 bases this past season. The award is named for the Pirates center fielder who led the National League in stolen bases in 1978 (71) and 1979 (77).

Greensboro’s Jared Triolo earned the Bill Mazeroski defender of the year after leading all High-A East League third basemen in fielding percentage (.961), assists (163), putouts (81) and total chances (254) while playing the most games (102) and innings (897). Triolo’s .961 fielding percentage also led all qualified third basemen in the minors. The award is named for the Hall of Famer, an eight-time Gold Glove winner regarded as one of the best defensive second baseman ever.

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