MVP - Andrew McCutchen - You see this one brought up, and nobody says McCutchen. I totally understand why, but again it all comes down to your interpretation of the meaning of the award. Are other players having great seasons relative to their ability? Absolutely. Are the Pirates 20 games over without McCutchen? Absolutely not. McCutchen is just that consistent force in the 3 spot every night. He is capable of doing something incredible on offense, defense, or on the bases at any given moment. He is not having a great season that would warrant NL MVP consideration, but quietly he is top 20 in the NL in average, doubles, runs, hits, and stolen bases. Cutch accumulates stats, and is the only hitter in the Pirates lineup sniffing .300 right now. McCutchen is an elite talent in baseball, and one of the few that can make that claim on the Pirates. Again, its how you interpret the award, but this team needs Cutch far more than any other player. Best Bat - Pedro Alvarez - Pedro Alvarez is having a tremendous season, and he is right there in the team MVP discussion. Pedro Alvarez can carry an offense for weeks at a time, and he has been doing just that. He may not be what people expected when he was drafted second overall, but he is performing at an All Star level this season. Nobody will ever mistake Alvarez for a batting champ, but his average has been very good thus far, considering his struggles with it earlier in his career. If you double up Pedro's stats from now, you are looking at a 40 HR 110 RBI guy primarily out of the 6 spot in the batting order. Nobody else on this team can do that, Pedro can and should from now on. These are his peak years. He will take his criticism for strikeouts, even though this whole team strikeouts a ton. He gets unfairly judged by this town, but outside of David Wright, there is not a NL third Basemen I would want on my team. Pittsburgh as a whole should start to realize this.
Best Pitcher - Jeff Locke - There is literally not enough words to say about how well Jeff Locke has second round out of New Hampshire. Do you even begin to realize how talented you have to be to get that recognition? He was always a good minor leaguer right up until last season, but still somehow flew under the radar as a top prospect. I would imagine it is because he is not a 6-5 guy that can throw 97 MPH. Locke can pitch and locate. 8-1 2.12 ERA? Those just aren't all star numbers, those are Cy Young numbers. Now, looking at it through a metric side, Locke may regress a little. He is pitching out of his mind by stranding runners. Its baseball, things will happen. Locke may not pitch like this for a whole season, but I do not see a great drop off by any measure either. He is the one constant this pitching staff has had since day one. pitched this season. I just realized recently, Locke has almost been portrayed as a guy to come out of nowhere to be here this season, and I bought it. Locke was drafted in the
Best Free Agent - Russell Martin - Realistically, this team is not all that much different from last year. Sure some players fluctuate, but the same core is in place. Russell Martin is one of the main differences this team holds over last year. Martin has been great defensively, and has been really showing off his arm. In fact, Martin is the best at throwing out runners in the NL. He has also come up with plenty of clutch hits, including a walk off on Sunday against Milwaukee. His average and versatility makes him an option to hit anywhere in the lineup.
Unsung Hero - Mark Melancon - It is just the way baseball is these days. The "Save" is a glorified stat that earns plenty of publicity. Closers make big bucks and come in to end the game. What is the last highlight of a baseball game you see on SportsCenter? It is likely the closer getting the final out. That sometimes overshadows what a setup man does. Mark Melancon has been just as good, if not better than Grilli this season. Melancon has allowed 4 earned runs in 41.1 innings so far. He has been able to maintain a rapid pace all the way to now, and has really gotten the Pirates out of some serious jams this season, all the while pitching in the same tough leverage situations Grilli has to deal with. Baseball by nature overshadows a good setup man, but the Bucs have a real good one in Melancon, and he has been instrumental to their success. Biggest Surprise - Jason Grilli - I'll be the first to admit, I did not hop on the Grilled Cheese bandwagon last year. He did pitch well, but faded down the stretch. I guess it was the frustration with the whole team, that led to my personal frustration with Grilli. At 36 years old, I thought he was a flash in the pan type guy. I did not expect him to have an all star caliber season at all this year. I guess some people thought he would do a fine job, but personal expectations have been thoroughly exceeded for me by Jason Grilli.
Top Young Gun - Starling Marte - Marte is not a rookie, but I made this category up so I could
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