Isiah Kiner-Falefa Compares Pirates Teammate To Yankees Stars

Pirates shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been singing the praises of Pittsburgh star Oneil Cruz, and he took it to the next level by comparing the center fielder to two of his former New York Yankees teammates.

Kiner-Falefa told MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal that Cruz “combines the quick twitch and missile-like exit velos” of Giancarlo Stanton with the “athleticism and power” of Aaron Judge.

“If you put ’em both together, I feel like it’s Oneil Cruz,” Kiner-Falefa said, per Rosenthal. “If he maximizes his potential, he can be one of the best players ever.”

In the Pirates’ split against the Milwaukee Brewers last week, Cruz was instrumental in Pittsburgh’s two wins by launching two home runs in one win and a decisive triple in another to give the club back-to-back wins.

Veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen added Cruz has work to do to reach his full potential.

“He’s kind of a Rubik’s Cube up there. You see hints of it at times. But you also see the youthful side of things,” McCutchen said, per Rosenthal. “Sometimes, you take your walks in situations. Sometimes it just takes an easy swing to the opposite side of the field.

“It’s things like that, when I talk about the mentality of the game, there’s still some work to be done with him. It’s definitely there. It’s just a matter of piecing it together.”

McCutchen said Cruz can get there by consistently producing quality at-bats, getting on base, stealing bases, and making difficult plays in the outfield routine.

“He’s doing great,” McCutchen said. “When he makes mistakes, you have to realize he doesn’t understand that part. And it’s going to sometimes take the mistakes for him to learn.

“… He’s gliding to the ball better. I just can’t wait for him to get to some of those zero percent catch probabilities and actually catch them. He has the capability of doing that, catching balls no one else can.”

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