Pittsburgh fans now have another player to watch during MLB All-Star Week. Paul Skenes is the Pirates' lone All-Star, but Oneil Cruz will enjoy his time to shine as well. 

On Tuesday, Cruz announced that he will compete in this summer's Home Run Derby, becoming the first Pirate to take swings at the event since Josh Bell in 2019. 

“Monkey Business. Swingin’ through the Derby like a wild monkey on a mission. Barrels, bombs, and banana peels everywhere. Let’s make a mess at the Home Run Derby," Cruz posted on Instagram, using his nickname "The Monkey" as part of his announcement. 

Cruz joins a lineup that currently consists of Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr., MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Mariners, the Nationals' James Wood and the Twins' Byron Buxton. There are still two spots remaining with Cruz added to the mix.

Cruz becomes the seventh player to appear in a Derby while representing the Pirates. Bobby Bonilla (1990), Barry Bonds (1992), Jason Bay (2005), Andrew McCutchen (2012), Pedro Alvarez (2013) and the aforementioned Bell are the others.

Fortunately for Cruz, it's very unlikely he won't at least exceed one former Bucco. Bay failed to even hit one single homer when he took part as a native of Canada when the event honored the upcoming inaugural World Baseball Classic.

Even though Cruz has the fewest number of home runs (15) of any slugger in the derby, his exit velocity prowess makes him a must-watch. Cruz leads the majors in exit velocity at 108.3 mph, a statistic that measures how hard a player hits a baseball, and bat also in bat speed at 78.6 mph. 

Back on My 25, Cruz demolished a baseball that traveled 432 feet with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. The home run was the hardest ever hit in the Statcast era, which originated in 2015.