Pittsburgh Pirates: Bryan Reynolds Named Silver Slugger Finalist

The Pittsburgh Pirates saw one of their top-position players receive a nomination for the Silver Slugger.  What led to this nomination?

The offseason has not even started and already the name of Bryan Reynolds is in Major League Baseball News.  No, it is not involving trade rumors, although those surely will come.  It actually is for a positive reason for the Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder.

Today, the finalists for the Silver Slugger Award Mark Feinsand of MLB.com released a list of the finalists on the American and National League sides.  Outfielder Bryan Reynolds is the only player from the Pittsburgh Pirates to be nominated for the prestigious award.

Reynolds, who was a National League All-Star in 2021, put together a really impressive 2022 season as well.  He did not make the All-Star game but definitely could have.  He heated up more so in the second half of the season.

For the 2022 season, Reynolds played in 145 games and accumulated 542 at-bats.  His batting average was somewhat low, sitting at just .262, but he did belt a career-high in home runs. Last year, Reynolds hit 24 home runs, in 2022 he posted 27 total bombs.

Compared to his 2021 season, Reynolds had a down year.  Overall, he posted a WAR of 3 for the 2022 season which is about half of what he posted in 2021.  Still, a three-win outfielder is a very good player.

Reynolds likely will not win any of the 3 Silver Slugger Awards awarded to the outfielders.  Other players who he will compete against for the honor include Mookie Betts, Kyle Schwarber, Juan Soto, Starling Marte, Hunter Renfroe, Michael Harris II, Joc Pederson, and Brandon Nimmo.  This group overall is not as impressive as past groups.

Mookie Betts and Kyle Schwarber will likely win 2 of the awards.  Schwarber had a historic National League year hitting 48 home runs.  It will be interesting to see who grabs the last spot.  Breakout rookie Michael Harris II of the Braves would be my guess.