The Pittsburgh Pirates’ No All-Star Game All-Star Team

PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 08: Neil Walker #18 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in action against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the game at PNC Park on August 8, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 08: Neil Walker #18 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in action against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the game at PNC Park on August 8, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) /
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Second Base

Neil Walker

Neil Walker was quite the underrated hitter in Pittsburgh Pirates’ history. Throughout his entire time with the Bucs, he hit 272/.338/.448 with a .336 wOBA, 114 wRC+, and 113 OPS+. Walker leads all Pirates’ second basemen in wRC+, wOBA, OPS, is second in home runs with 93, and third in fWAR (15.4).

During his prime from 2010 up through 2016, was silently one of the best hitting second basemen in the league. He hit .274/.340/.438 with a .339 wOBA, and 116 wRC+. Among second basemen with at least 2000 plate appearances, he was 6th in wRC+, wOBA, 4th in home runs, and 6th in OPS.

Walker spent six full seasons with the Pirates while showing he could hit for some pop. In each of those years, he reached at least a dozen home runs. He also had a solid .159 isolated slugging percentage. Plus he averaged over 15 home runs and 30 doubles every season.

Walker wasn’t much of a defender. He had -22 DRS, a -5.8 UZR/150, and -34.5 range runs above average throughout all 6890 innings played at the keystone. However, the fact he was a consistent and above-average producer at the plate, yet never made an all-star game is a bit surprising.

Walker’s best season came in 2014. During that year, the Pittsburgh Kid stepped to the plate 571 times while having a strong .271/.342/.467 line, 22 home runs, .356 wOBA, 130 wRC+, and 126 OPS+. Walker made a good run at an all-star game in 2016 when he had 23 home runs, a 124 wRC+, 121 OPS+, .351 wOBA, and .823 OPS. But injuries hampered his chances. The same happened in 2017 when he was a solid hitter once again for the Mets and eventually the Brewers, but missed out on any all-star festivities.