Pittsburgh Pirates First Half Awards

Which Pittsburgh Pirates performed the best and the worst in the first half of the season? Here are our first half awards.

Cy Young – Mark Melancon

The Pirates pitching staff as a whole hasn’t been great to say the least. Outside of Gerrit Cole, no one on the starting staff has had even an average year. If Cole had been healthy for the entire first half, or close to most of the first half, he’d probably be the best choice for this award. But Cole’s missed at least six starts, so the best choice for this award for the entire first half of the season has to be Mark Melancon.

Melancon started off the year poorly. He gave up a run on two hits in his first outing of the year, and had an ERA as high as 3.00 as late as May 15th. But since that date, Melancon has not allowed an earned run in 23 outings, holds the lowest ERA of any pitcher on the team at 1.23, and earned himself a worthy third career All-Star nod. For all of the inconsistency in the bullpen this season, Melancon has been the steady force at the back-end. He is tied for the second-most saves in all of baseball and has blown only one save this year, and he’s on pace for arguably the best year of his career. He has been the Pirates best, most consistent pitcher over the first half of the season.

Cy Yuck – Jon Niese

This was probably the most competitive award. The bullpen would have had some worthy choices earlier this year, but the pen as a whole has steadied itself out over the past month or so. The rotation, on the other hand, has been a disaster outside of Cole. Jeff Locke, while providing the very rare quality outing, has regressed since last year and holds the worst ERA on the staff. Francisco Liriano has been a monumental disappoint so far, but has managed some quality outings and has upside that he can hit in the second half. But in a close race, the Cy Yuck for the first half of the season has to go to Jon Niese.

For one, his stats speak for themselves: 5.13 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, and 20 home runs given up. For a guy that has traditionally been pretty good at keeping the ball down, the number of home runs he’s given up has been a huge surprise. He’s also making much more money than Locke and his upside isn’t as high as Liriano’s. He hasn’t filled the role that’s been expected of him this year, and has made the trade that sent Neil Walker to the Mets awfully lopsided. There’s a reason his start on Sunday was likely his last as a Pirate.

Rookie of the Year – Jameson Taillon

Last year, the Pirates first half Rookie of the Year was an easy choice. Jung Ho Kang was performing remarkably well, and no other rookie had significantly impacted the team up to that point. This season, while no rookies have had a major impact on the Pirates until June, many rookies have been able to impact the squad in some way, shape, or form as of late. Jameson Taillon, Tyler Glasnow, Chad Kuhl, Steven Brault, and Wilfredo Boscan all made their major league debuts from the mound this season, while Josh Bell, Alen Hanson, Jacob Stallings, and Adam Frazier all got their shot from the batter’s box. But the only one that spent enough time with the big league squad to make a significant impact has been Jameson Taillon.

Taillon had been performing well up until he was placed on the disabled list. He has a 3.86 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP in five major league starts this season, including one eight-inning shutout performance. Even if he hovers around an ERA of 4.00 for the rest of the season, that will be a huge upgrade over what the rotation has given the Pirates so far. I expect him to get better as the season goes on, with the opportunity to make a significant impact on the Pirates’ playoff push.

Most Valuable Player – Starling Marte

There were a number of very worthy candidates for the MVP award for the Pirates in the first half. Gregory Polanco is having his much-anticipated breakout campaign, and he leads the team in RBIs. He could have added to his team-leading total of 50 if he hadn’t sat out the final series against the Cubs. David Freese has been one of the best value signings of the off-season, and a phenomenal spring training pickup. Not only is he tied for third on the team with 38 RBIs, but he has double digit home runs and an average near .300 while spending some of his time coming off the bench. His performance at third filling in for Kang at the beginning of the season can’t be forgotten.

But my choice for this award is Starling Marte. Obviously his average of .316 jumps out, but he’s also second in all of baseball with 30 steals and continues to play a great defensive left field. But it’s most important to note how Marte has been a model of consistency for the majority of the season, while the rest of the team has been in flux around him. His average has not been below .300 since April 11th, and he has only gone more than two games in a row without a hit once all season. Marte continues to be an underrated star in this league and is on pace for his fourth-consecutive five-plus WAR season.

Least Valuable Player – Andrew McCutchen

This was a tough award to hand out. Pitchers don’t impact the game as frequently as position players do, so I didn’t value pitchers too much in this. And to be fair, Andrew McCutchen has gotten hot as of late and could be on his way to turning into the McCutchen of old come the second half of the season. But with the money he’s making (relative to those around him), the expectations surrounding him every year, and the weight he carries as the leader of this team, he deserves the LVP award for the first half.

McCutchen is on pace for the worst season of his career in so many different areas, including average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, strikeouts, and stolen bases. In particular, his high strikeout rate and low walk rate are of concern. There were rumors that he was battling hand and grip issues at the plate, but McCutchen downplayed the impact of those. He also has only two stolen bases this year; for a guy that used to be a threat on the base-paths, McCutchen stealing a base now seems unfathomable. McCutchen needs to rebound in the second half of the season, and he could be on his way to doing so. But up to this point, he has been a major disappointment.

Image Credit – Daniel Decker Photography

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