2016 Pittsburgh Pirates Awards: Marty’s Cy Young

Sep 29, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Ivan Nova (46) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 29, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Ivan Nova (46) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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Here at Rum Bunter Nick, Dave, and myself will be giving our Pittsburgh Pirates 2016 awards in the coming weeks. Here is my Pirates’ Cy Young Award winner.

The 2016 season was a disappointing one for the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, there were some bright spots. And in the next few weeks we will be focusing on those bright spots.

As we continue to hand out our 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates’ awards here at Rum Bunter, our Pirate Cy Young Award winners are up next. Today, we will take a look at my 2016 Pirates’ Cy Young Award winner. And this choice may surprise you.

Entering the season had you asked people who the Pirates’ Cy Young would be you would have gotten a variety of answers. Gerrit Cole, Francisco Liriano, Mark Melancon, and maybe even Jameson Taillon or Tyler Galsnow would have all been popular responses. However, my 2016 Pirates’ Cy Young is none of those men.

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In fact, my Pirates’ Cy Young for 2016 did not even begin the season in Pittsburgh. This man began the season in the Bronx with the Yankees. My 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates’ Cy Young Award winner is Ivan Nova.

On August 1st the Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Ivan Nova in a trade with the New York Yankees. The Pirates sent the Yankees two players to be named later for Nova. These players would turn out to be left-handed pitching prospect Stephen Tarpley and outfielder prospect Tito Polo.

Ivan Nova wound up making 11 starts for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In these 11 starts he pitched 64 2/3 innings. And these 11 starts he made in Pittsburgh was the best 11 start stretch of his Major League career.

Nova finished with a 3.06 ERA, 2.62 FIP, and a 3.13 xFIP, all of which led the Pirates’ starting pitching staff. He also averaged 7.24 K/9, he allowed just four home runs, walked just three batters, and he posted a 1.10 WHIP as a Pirate. Ivan Nova also pitched a complete game in three of his 11 starts with the Pirates.

During his tenure in Pittsburgh Ivan Nova posted a 52.3 percent ground ball rate as a Pirate. This ground ball rate was higher than his ground ball rate in four of his seven Major League seasons.

Due to all of this Nova posted a 1.9 WAR as a member of the Pirates. This was the second highest WAR of any Pirates’ pitcher in 2016 behind just Gerrit Cole (2.5).

Ivan Nova allowed too much hard contact as a Pirate. Honestly, he allowed too much hard contact all season long. However, he was still able to get hitters out, be efficient with his pitches, and limit the amount of runs he allowed.

Next: Rum Bunter's AL Cy Young

Ivan Nova only spent two months of the 2016 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Despite this, he is my 2016 Pirates’ Cy Young Award winner.

Nova will become a free agent when the World Series ends. And due to the way he pitched as a Pirate he should cash in nicely this offseason. Furthermore, Nova might be the best starting pitcher on the free agent market.

Honorable mention: SP Gerrit Cole, SP Jameson Taillon

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