Los Angeles, California, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz (15) catches a pop out from Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) in the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Pittsburgh Pirates' Oneil Cruz Delivers Historic 100 MPH Outfield Assist

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Sam Connon | Last updated May 6, 2025 10:04 AM ET

Oneil Cruz's transition to the outfield hasn't been without its speed bumps, but the Pittsburgh Pirates star showed a major flash Monday night.

The Pirates entered the sixth inning leading the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2. Wilson Contreras hit a go-ahead, two-run home run, though, before Jose Barrero extended the Cardinals' advantage with a two-RBI, ground-rule double.

St. Louis tried to make it a 7-3 ballgame when Lars Nootbaar flied out to Cruz in center, but Cruz wasn't going to allow a sacrifice fly that easily.

Cruz got a full running start, caught the ball and crow-hopped before delivering a 100 mile-per-hour throw home. His laser beat Victor Scott II to the plate, preventing a run with an inning-ending outfield assist.

That stands alone as the fastest outfield assist at home plate across MLB so far this season.

According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, it was also the fourth-fastest outfield assist by a Pirates player in the Statcast era, which dates back to 2015. Starling Marte carved out the top-two spots in the list in 2016, while Billy Cook ranks third with the 100.2 mile-per-hour assist he delivered on Sept. 11, 2024.

100.0 mph! Oneil Cruz

The Pirates’ fourth-fastest tracked OF assist under Statcast (2015), behind only:

5/20/16 Starling Marte: 100.6 mph
6/11/16 Marte: 100.3 mph
9/11/24 Billy Cook: 100.2 mph https://t.co/LVHOchyotF
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 6, 2025

The Pirates didn't score another run, so the Cardinals held on to win 6-3. Cruz finished 2-for-4 with a run.

The 26-year-old is now batting .252 with eight home runs, 18 RBIs, 21 runs, 14 stolen bases and an .889 OPS through 33 games this season. The 6-foot-7 shortstop-turned-center fielder already has a 1.1 fWAR, leading Pittsburgh players in the stat.

Cruz entered Monday with -9 defensive runs saved, however, so his consistency out in center has held him back statistically. But if he can keep coming through with game-changing plays like the one he had Monday night, Cruz could turn into a valuable defender at his new position.

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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