Pirates SS Oneil Cruz cracks top 20 in Baseball America's updated top 100 prospect rankings

After Pittsburgh Pirates rookie third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes graduated from prospect status, Oneil Cruz assumed the top prospect ranking in the club’s minor league system.

Now, Cruz is one of the game’s top 20 prospects.

When Baseball America updated its top 100 prospects on Monday, Cruz moved up 10 spots from its mid-August rankings to No. 19. (Hayes was ranked No. 15 by Baseball America in January).

Cruz, a 6-foot-7 shortstop from the Dominican Republic, is slashing .293/.348/.522 with 13 doubles, five triples, 10 home runs and 36 RBIs in 57 games at Double-A Altoona. He missed more than a month of the season with tightness in his right forearm.

Cruz is one of five Pirates prospects in the top 100, as four moved up spots in the rankings.

High-A Greensboro catcher Henry Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, is ranked No. 44. Davis batted .263 with one triple, two home runs and a 1.059 OPS in six games with the Grasshoppers before going on the injured list with a season-ending oblique injury.

Davis, however, is the fourth-highest ranked member of his draft class. Texas Rangers right-handed pitcher Jack Leiter is ranked No. 26, Boston Red Sox shortstop Marcelo Mayer No. 29 and Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Jordan Lawlar No. 30.

Greensboro right-hander Quinn Priester, the Pirates’ first-round pick in 2019, moved up eight spots to the No. 50 ranking. Priester (7-3, 2.65 ERA in 19 starts) is averaging 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Greensboro second baseman Nick Gonzales, the Pirates’ top pick in 2020, dropped five spots to No. 65 in Baseball America’s rankings after a slow start due to a broken pinky finger. After a strong August that earned him High-A East player of the month honors, Gonzales is now batting .296/.371/.557 with 21 doubles, 17 homers and 52 RBIs.

His double-play partner at Greensboro, shortstop Liover Peguero, climbed four spots to the No. 78 ranking. Peguero is hitting .268/.328/.450 with 18 doubles, 14 homers and 44 RBIs.

Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman, the No. 1 overall pick in 2019, is Baseball America’s top-ranked prospect, followed by Seattle outfielder Julio Rodriguez, Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., Detroit first baseman Spencer Torkelson and outfielder Riley Greene, San Diego shortstop CJ Abrams, Baltimore right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, Toronto catcher Gabriel Moreno, San Francisco shortstop Marco Luciano and Seattle shortstop Noelvi Marte.

Tampa Bay right-hander Shane Baz, the Pirates’ No. 1 pick in 2017 before being traded in the Chris Archer deal, is ranked No. 11.