Top 10 Pittsburgh Pirates of the first half

Jul 11, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen 22) hits a game winning two run home run to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourteenth inning at PNC Park. The Pirates won 6-5 in fourteen innings. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Pirates have stormed into the all-star break, winners of eight of their last nine games, having taken three of four from the St. Louis Cardinals in dramatic, exciting fashion. The team now sits only 2.5 games back of the Cardinals in the NL Central and owns the third best record in all of baseball at 53-35. There have been numerous keys to the Pirates’ success so far this season. They own the second-best ERA in all of baseball at 2.86, and have gotten plenty of timely, clutch hitting as of late to win close games. While the offense hasn’t lived up to expectations just yet, it still sits in the middle of the pack in the National League and has the opportunity to get much better in the second half.

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None of this success would be possible without the great play of some standout players on the team. With the All-Star break upon us, it’s time to break down our top 10 Pirate players of the first half of the season. This is a completely subjective list and there were numerous candidates for these 10 spots. But, like any great list, names had to be left off.

Notable omissions: Josh Harrison, Jung Ho Kang, and Vance Worley.

Let’s start with number 10.

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