Perrotto: Handing out Pirates’ Mid-Season Honors

There is a lot of truth to Bill Parcells’ famous line.

The Hall of Fame football coach is the man who said. “you are who your record says you are.”

That sums up the 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates and their 48-48 record coming out of the All-Star break Friday night when they host the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park. The Pirates haven’t been good. Then again, they haven’t been bad.

The Pirates are the epitome of a so-so team. They won nine of 11 games to begin the season then five of their last six before the break. The Pirates have spent the rest of the season spinning their wheels.

Before the Pirates move on to the second half, let’s hand out first-half awards:

Most Valuable Player

Bryan Reynolds participated in the second All-Star Game of his six-year career on Tuesday night in Arlington, Texas. The honor was well-deserved as the outfielder has been the most consistent hitter in an inconsistent lineup.

Reynolds is hitting .287./.347/.487 with 18 home runs while starting all 96 games. He displayed his steadiness last month when he had a 25-game hitting streak from June 1-29.

The only negative for Reynolds is he has minus-3 defensive runs saved. He more than makes up for that by what he provides offensively for a team that is 20^th in the major leagues with an average of 4.19 runs scored a game.

Most Outstanding Pitcher

Paul Skenes is often referred to as a generational pitcher, though it seems a little premature to say that about a 22-year-old right-hander with just 11 regular-season starts.

However, Skenes has been spectacular since making his major-league debut on May 11. He has a 6-0 record and a 1.90 ERA while allowing 48 hits and just 13 walks in 66.1 innings to go with 89 strikeouts.

Major League Baseball understands Skenes’ marketability and ability to interest non-baseball fans because of his relationship with LSU gymnast and social media sensation Livvy Dunne. That is why he started for the National League in the All-Star Game.

Least Valuable Player

Jack Suwinski hit 26 home runs and stole 13 bases last season. However, it seems like that happened 10 years ago.

Suwinski’s slash line is a paltry .174/.259/.319 in 83 games with nine homers and six steals. He finished the first half by going hitless in 15 at-bats.

At 25, the outfielder is young enough to turn things around, but his career is approaching a crossroads.

Least Outstanding Pitcher

Ben Heller wins this “award” despite making two relief appearances during the first half.

Heller was awful in those two games, getting rocked for 11 runs and 12 hits in two innings. He had a 0-1 record with a 49.50 ERA.

The 32-year-old journeyman has been solid at Triple-A Indianapolis, going 2-1 with two saves and a 3.33 ERA in 23 games. Maybe he’ll get a second chance with the Pirates. Surely he couldn’t be any worse the second time around,

Rookie of the Year

Skenes is the obvious choice. However, fellow 22-year-old righty Jared Jones deserves some recognition by going 5-6 with a 3.56 ERA in the first 16 starts of his career.