Pittsburgh Pirates 2021 Season Grades: Outfielders

PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 16: Bryan Reynolds #10 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates with Ben Gamel #18 after hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning during the game against the New York Mets at PNC Park on July 16, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 16: Bryan Reynolds #10 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates with Ben Gamel #18 after hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning during the game against the New York Mets at PNC Park on July 16, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
Oct 2, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Bryan Reynolds (10) runs the bases on his way to scoring a run against the Cincinnati Reds during the fifth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Bryan Reynolds (10) runs the bases on his way to scoring a run against the Cincinnati Reds during the fifth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Bryan Reynolds

GRADE: A+

2021 Stats: 159 games, .302/.390./.522, 24 home runs, 90 RBI, 6.0 WAR

May the Pirates order nine Bryan Reynolds please? The Al-Star center fielder authored a sensational season akin to the likes of Andrew McCutchen. He is going to be a star in the league for a while.

Reynolds’s 24 home runs more than doubled that of any other player on the team. He was a major part of the batting title race clear up until early August. With a .912 OPS, Reynolds showed that he can bat in the heart of a lineup regardless of the team he plays on.

Reynolds made plenty of diving catches and catches at the wall over the course of the season. A closer look at his defensive WAR has him at -0.3. That number suggests many of those catches were more about luck than his ability to read balls and get to them in an easier fashion.

Reynolds has above average speed but nothing that would blow anyone away. That certainly doesn’t help trying to patrol the mass in center field.

Anytime you can post those numbers offensively, especially on a team as bad as the Pirates were in 2021, you can forget the defensive aspect of the game. It isn’t like Reynolds is a liability in the field.

For all of that, Reynolds earns the only A+ you’ll see throughout the three part player grades series.