The Pirates Deserve Credit For Their Top Ranked Offense
Entering the second half of the MLB season, the Pirates have scored the most runs in Major League Baseball.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are 50-47 at the All-Star Break.
They sit 9.5 games back in the NL Central behind the Milwaukee Brewers, but finished on a high note by sweeping the Brewers heading into the break.
They’re two games back in the NL Wild Card race, with four teams ahead of them batting for three spots.
All of this is unexpected from a team that was one of the worst in the game last season, on so many levels.
One area where the Pirates were one of the worst in the game was their offense. They’ve done a complete 180 this season, which has led to this turnaround.
Today, I’m going to look at the Pirates’ offense, breaking down what was working so well in the first half, along with the outlook in the second half.
Catcher
League Rank: 12th
Starters: Endy Rodriguez/Henry Davis
The Pirates don’t have a bad catching duo. Henry Davis has stepped up as one of the better rated defensive catchers in the game, despite hitting below the Mendoza line. Endy Rodriguez brings the offensive value, but hasn’t been nearly as valuable on defense.
Combined, they help make up the 12th best unit in the game, ranking in the top half in both offense and defensive runs. Davis ranks 22nd out of 101 catchers in defensive runs, while Rodriguez ranks 12th in offensive runs among the same group.
Rodriguez is currently injured, which means the Pirates are looking at Rafael Flores Jr. as the backup to Davis.
First Base
League Rank: 10th
Starters: Spencer Horwitz/Ryan O’Hearn
The Pirates have the tenth best first base group, and that’s largely fueled by offense. Spencer Horwitz and Ryan O’Hearn both get time at the position. Horwitz has played 560 innings this season, while O’Hearn has 218 innings, getting more time in right field.
Both players had an offensive breakout in 2025, and both are repeating those numbers in 2026. O’Hearn has actually been better this season. At the break, he’s one shy of his career-high home run total last year, with an OPS that has gone from .803 to .838. Horwitz is two shy of his career-high in home runs, and has his best OPS of his career at .842.
The Pirates are currently without Horwitz, expecting to get him back after the All-Star break. The benefit they have is O’Hearn provides incredible depth, allowing them to maintain offensive output even with their starter down. For years, the Pirates have been without a good first baseman. Now, they have two above-average options.
Second Base
League Rank: 5th
Starter: Brandon Lowe
Can you say All-Star snub? Brandon Lowe has led the Pirates to the fifth best results at second base in the entire game. Unfortunately for him, the top four were all National League teams. So perhaps it’s less of an All-Star snub and more an unfortunate time for Lowe to have one of his best career seasons.
With his next home run, Lowe will set the Pirates’ record for most home runs hit by a second baseman, previously held by Neil Walker. He’s not only putting up the best offensive numbers since 2021, but his defensive production has been the best of his career.
Lowe is a free agent at the end of the season, and he’s definitely playing himself into a big final contract at this rate.
Shortstop
League Rank: 12th
Starter: Jared Triolo
This is where the Pirates run into problems. Their 12th-best shortstop ranking is due to Konnor Griffin. The rookie’s value is driven by offense, which includes the best base running results in the entire game. Unfortunately, Griffin is on the 60-day IL, and might return in September.
Jared Triolo is his replacement. Triolo offers better defense, but a huge drop in offensive value will take the Pirates from an above-average situation to a position where they’re just getting by.
The Pirates did just trade for Jacob Gonzalez, who has spent time at shortstop. Gonzalez had a power breakout this season in Triple-A, which came in a hitter-friendly park. He’ll get some time over the next two months to show how much of that power was legit as he fills in for Griffin with Triolo.
Third Base
League Rank: 12th
Starter: Nick Gonzales
This might be the most surprising result of the Pirates’ season. Nick Gonzales is batting .308/.370/.391, with his bat leading the Pirates to above-average results at third base. The defense is a downgrade over what the Pirates previously had with two-time Gold Glove winner Ke’Bryan Hayes. Despite the defensive downgrade, Gonzales is an overall upgrade.
Out of 23 qualified third basemen, Gonzales has the 10th best offensive output. There’s very little power, but he’s starting to look like the pure-hitter the Pirates were hoping for when they took him seventh overall in 2020. His defense, while a downgrade from Hayes, does rank 15th out of 23 third basemen. The combined result makes him the tenth-best third baseman in the league.
It might not be a surprise that Lowe, O’Hearn, or Horwitz are having great seasons. It’s definitely unexpected that Gonzales has stepped up to this level. The Pirates will need this production in the second half to help deal with injuries.
Outfield
League Rank: 2nd
Current Starters: Bryan Reynolds / Jake Mangum / Esmerlyn Valdez
Healthy Starters: Bryan Reynolds / Oneil Cruz / Ryan O’Hearn
I didn’t have this on my scorecard entering the season. The Pirates outfield group is second worst in the game defensively, which is something I did expect. However, their offense has been the best in the game, and that has persisted even through injuries to key players.
Oneil Cruz went down with an injury, and O’Hearn went to first base to replace the injured Horwitz. In their absence, Esmerlyn Valdez has stepped up in a big way, with his first 105 plate appearances putting him in some Rookie of the Year discussions. Jake Mangum is batting .310 and getting on base at a .364 rate, while upgrading the center field defense over Cruz. The Pirates are even getting decent results from Tyler Callihan off the bench.
Meanwhile, Bryan Reynolds is having one of the best seasons of his career. Reynolds had a 1.1 fWAR last season, with a .720 OPS. His .878 OPS this year is his best result since his breakout season in 2021, with his best power numbers since 2023. He also has robbed several home runs, getting more comfortable in left field. The improvement has led to a 2.9 fWAR already this season.
Reynolds improving this much has arguably been just as big of an upgrade as the additions of Lowe or O’Hearn. The production from Cruz, O‘Hearn, and Valdez and Mangum in their absence from the outfield group, gives the Pirates one of the best outfields in the game.
This also will create some questions in the second half, which brings me to…
Designated Hitter
League Rank: 26th
Starter: Marcell Ozuna
One are of the offense that hasn’t been working out has been the addition of Marcell Ozuna. The Pirates’ designated hitter ranks 26th of 27 MLB players in the DH role with 250+ plate appearances. He’s batting .205/.288/.335.
The offense from Ozuna has gotten better lately. In the last 30 days, he’s hitting .270/.357/.514 with three home runs in 42 plate appearances. However, the Pirates will be left with a decision when Cruz and Horwitz return from injuries.
Horwitz will push O’Hearn back to the outfield, and Cruz will combine to push Mangum and Valdez to the bench. The Pirates could opt to split Horwitz and O’Hearn between first base and DH in order to keep Valdez in the lineup, but that would push Ozuna to the bench.
That would be the best approach. While Ozuna has been playing better lately, the best lineup right now includes Horwitz, O’Hearn, and Valdez, with Mangum as a strong fourth outfield option. The Pirates can’t get that lineup without benching Ozuna. His salary is a sunk cost that shouldn’t determine the best Pirates’ offensive group going forward.
Offensive Upgrades
The Pirates went from one of the worst offenses in the game last year to having the most runs scored in the game at the All-Star break. That’s a massive upgrade, and it deserves credit.
Ben Cherington did a good job in bringing in Lowe, O’Hearn, and even Mangum as a valuable depth option. Even if Ozuna has struggled, the overall additions have fueled this offensive revolution.
Matt Hague deserves some credit. In his second year as hitting coach, Hague has overseen some of the best career offensive seasons from returning players like Reynolds, Gonzales, and Cruz.
Young rookies like Griffin and Valdez have come up to immediately hit, which is partial credit to Hague and partial credit to the development process that sped both hitters through the system.
The most credit goes to the players themselves. Nearly every hitter on the roster is putting up career-best results. It’s unfortunate that the Pirates need this level of success just to stay on the outside of the playoff race. But pitching is more the issue of why the Pirates don’t have a better record right now.
Pitching
My next article will detail the results from the pitching staff, including one of the biggest areas of need at the trade deadline: The Bullpen.
Until the next time I go live…
-Tim Williams