Pittsburgh Pirates quarter pole awards

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May 27, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Starling Marte (6) reacts as he exits the field after the Pirates defeated the Miami Marlins at PNC Park. The Pirates won 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

As of Thursday morning, the Pittsburgh Pirates have played 46 games, and more than a quarter of the season has gone by. At this point, the excuse “it’s too early” won’t have much merit anymore. A substantial piece of the schedule is gone, and the Pirates currently find themselves six-and-a-half games back of the St. Louis Cardinals in the division and two games behind the New York Mets for the second Wild Card spot. These standings will begin to hold more significance as the season gets deeper into the summer, but the Pirates have put themselves in a good position in the early-going thanks to the current six-game winning streak the team has seen.

Some trends have emerged in the first part of this long season. The team as a whole currently ranks ninth in the National League in runs scored with 184, ninth in batting average at .249, 11th in on-base percentage at .307, ninth in slugging percentage at .383, and ninth in OPS at .689. That’s a middle-of-the-road offense. On the pitching side, however, the stats tell a different story. The team ranks second in the NL in ERA at 3.04, tied for second in the NL in quality starts with 28, fifth in strikeouts with 379, and fourth in batting average against at .245. That’s a very good pitching staff, thanks in large part to the three guys at the top of the rotation.

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Some notable offensive contributors have been Starling Marte over the course of the entire season, Josh Harrison and Andrew McCutchen as of late, and Jung Ho Kang off the bench. Gerrit Cole, A.J. Burnett, and Francisco Liriano make up a formidable top three at the top of the rotation, while Tony Watson continues to shine in his late-inning role.

However, Jordy Mercer continues to struggle out of the gate and Corey Hart hasn’t been great off the bench. Mark Melancon had a horrid start to the year while the fifth starter battle between Jeff Locke and Vance Worley has been hard to watch.

So, who has been the Most Valuable Player this season for the Pirates? Who would take home the team Cy Young? How about the Least Valuable Player and the Cy Yuck? We’ll evaluate these big four in the slides ahead (Jung Ho Kang has no contest for the Rookie of the Year award, so let’s just say he’s locked that down). Let’s start with the Cy Young: the best pitcher this team has seen so far this season, and one that might be the best in all of baseball as this is being written.

Next: The Batman

May 17, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher A.J. Burnett (34) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

CY YOUNG – A.J. Burnett

On many other teams, Gerrit Cole would be the ace of the staff and would easily take home this hardware. Why shouldn’t he? Cole is 7-2 with a 2.11 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He also boasts a 1.6 WAR, which is already better than the WAR he put up in either of his first two seasons in the bigs. The only reason Cole isn’t the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Cy Young winner is because (arguably) the best pitcher in baseball right now is on the same team.

A.J. Burnett has been consistently dominant this season. He hasn’t given up more than two runs in any of the nine starts he’s made, he’s gone at least six innings in every start outside of his first, and has won his last four starts. He currently leads all Pirate starters in ERA (1.37) and WAR (2.6) and is second in strikeouts (53), wins (four), innings pitched (59), and WHIP (1.10). He may surpass Cole in some of these categories on Thursday, as Cole has made on more start than Burnett. Burnett also leads all of baseball in ERA and is tied for second in the NL in WAR.

A.J. Burnett thrives in Pittsburgh, more so than he has in any other city he’s pitched in during his career. He brings a much-needed tenacity to the mound, and is a mentor for younger pitchers like Jeff Locke. He’s proving to be one of the best acquisitions of the offseason, and is looking to end his career on the highest of notes.

Runner-Up – Gerrit Cole

As was previously mentioned, Cole would take home this hardware on almost any other staff in baseball. He leads the Pirate starting staff in wins, WHIP, innings pitched, and strikeouts. But A.J. has one start in hand and has been more consistent than Cole in the first quarter of the season. Burnett’s FIP of 2.80 compared to Cole’s of 2.28 may mean that Burnett is due for slightly more regression than Cole, however.

Unfortunately, there have been a few pitchers that haven’t lived up to the hype. A.J.’s “understudy” is the most notable of these…

Next: Not so Locked-down

May 10, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jeff Locke (49) wipes his face in the dugout after pitching in the seventh inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park. The Pirates won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Cy Yuck – Jeff Locke

For as good as the starting staff for the Pittsburgh Pirates has been so far this year, the battle for the fifth starter position has left much to be desired. Charlie Morton has recently returned to the rotation and had a tremendous outing in his first start of the season and will take the spot of Vance Worley on the starting staff. But Jeff Locke still remains, and he leaves many Pirate fans yearning for another option at the back-end of the staff. If Worley is included, Locke ranks last on the starting staff in ERA at 4.70 and in WAR at -0.4, second to last in WHIP at 1.45 and K/9 at 7.32, and second in walks with 20. He’s given up at least three runs in four out of the five starts he’s made in May and has thrown at least 96 pitchers in each of those starts.

The only reason Locke remains on the staff is, essentially, because he’s not Worley. He’s also a lefty and the coaching staff seems to give Locke enough rope to collapse every season. Luckily, the Pirates have plenty of depth options and/or prospects in order to make a trade for a starting pitcher later in the season that Locke won’t last much longer unless he improves.

Runner-Up – Vance Worley

This was a tough decision to make. Worley and Locke have both done everything in their power to deserve the enviable Cy Yuck. However, Worley has a lower ERA than Locke this year, and I’m a results guy. I feel that Worley deserved a longer chance to try to replicate what he did last season, or at least to have been given more time on the staff to try to come close to that. His FIP of 3.70 is also lower than Locke’s 3.99. However, a case can be made for either pitcher. Worley lasted less than six innings in each of his last three starts, and that takes a toll on the bullpen.

Antonio Bastardo was also considered, but his small sample size of 11 innings and his success in the past gave him a little breathing room here.

Let’s continue the poor play and move to the Least Valuable Player Award, and address a player who thought he had his job secure entering the season, but has found out that he may need to start playing better, and soon, in order to keep that starting gig.

Next: Have Mercy...

May 24, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer (10) is congratulated in the dugout after scoring a run against the New York Mets during the seventh inning at PNC Park. The Pirates won 9-1. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Least Valuable Player – Jordy Mercer

The Pittsburgh Pirates are in a difficult position with their infield. Josh Harrison struggled for much of the early part of the season, batting under .200 up through much of May. He’s gotten hot as of late and is currently batting .259. Jung Ho Kang has emerged off the bench to the tune of a .316 average and a 1.5 WAR, good enough to start at short for many teams in the majors. Jordy Mercer, on the other hand, started off poorly and hasn’t recovered. He’s had a good couple of games recently, showing his power with some extra-base hits, but his average is still stuck under .200 at .189 and he’s been a below replacement-level player, coming in at a -0.5 WAR.

This award would have been a contest between Mercer, Harrison, and Andrew McCutchen after the month of April, but the latter two have recovered gracefully. Mercer has the misfortune of often not having the opportunity to improve as Kang has stolen his playing time, and deservedly so. Jordy is no longer undoubtedly the starting shortstop for this team. He needs to start showing the power that he’s shown in the past (his OBP is still higher than his slugging percentage, the latter of which sits at a measly .227). He’s done so recently, but the more Kang hits, the fewer opportunities Mercer will likely get.

Runner-Up – Andrew Lambo

Andrew Lambo seems to have disappeared from the memories of Pirates’ fans ever since he was placed on the disabled list with a foot injury, but he’s been a disappointment nonetheless. He went 1-for-25 before his injury sidelined him, accumulating a -0.6 WAR in that short amount of time. Lambo was also coming off of a poor spring training in which he barely got a spot on the bench. If he hadn’t been placed on the disabled list, he may very well have stolen the LVP from Mercer.

The battle for the Most Valuable Player Award was a tight one. But one player’s recent surge wasn’t enough to completely diminish his poor start and take the title from the consistent play of his outfield counterpart over the first quarter of the season.

Next: It's a Marte Partay

May 26, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Starling Marte (6) doubles against the Miami Marlins during the fifth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Most Valuable Player – Starling Marte

There has been one position player for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season that has been consistently good so far this season, and that player is Starling Marte. He’s been getting better and better since he was called up from the minors in 2012, and he’s looking to put together a performance like he did in the second half of 2014 over the course of an entire season. He leads the team in RBIs with 31, total bases with 85, and hits with 47, and is tied for the team lead in home runs with nine. He’s also tied for second among Pirate position players in WAR at 1.2. He’s dropped down to the middle of the order this year, and has been able to put his power on display in a spot where it can better be put to use.

Marte’s been consistent this season, and always seems to get a hit or contribute offensively when the rest of the team can’t. Other players have been hotter recently, but no one has done what Marte has up to this point.

Runner-Up – Andrew McCutchen

Boy has McCutchen gotten hot as of late. After batting .194 in April, he’s yanked his average up to .262 thanks to a great month of May. He’s batting .303 this month with a .927 OPS. If this award was given at the end of May, Cutch may very well be the Pirates’ team MVP. His lingering knee injury doesn’t seem to be bothering him anymore, and as long as Josh Harrison continues to get stay hot and get on base in front of him, good things will continue to happen for the 2013 NL MVP.

It’ll be a fascinating race to the mid-season awards, as we’ll get to see if Burnett can hold up in his age-38 season, who ends up receiving most of the playing time at shortstop, and who is the best run producer in the middle of the lineup by the time summer really gets underway.

Next: Pittsburgh Pirates have zero all-stars in first ballot update

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