4 Pittsburgh Pirates players threatening to crash the 2025 All-Star Game

Not much has gone right thus far for the 2025 Pittsburgh Pirates. The team boasts one of MLB's worst records thanks to a combination of a bottom-three offense, some head-scratching defensive miscues, and inconsistent performances from the back of the rotation and some high-leverage bullpen arms.

Despite the club's rough start, there have been a few bright spots (and who knows how bad the Pirates' record would be without them?). Here are four Pirates off to strong starts who could find themselves in Atlanta for this year's All-Star Game:

These 4 (yes, 4) Pittsburgh Pirates could make the All-Star Game roster this summer

Paul Skenes

Can we please cool it with the idea that Skenes represents any real segment of the Pirates' problems? His last start, in which the right-hander set a career-high in homers allowed and tied a career-high in walks, still saw Skenes get through five innings with only three runs surrendered. His ERA ballooned all the way up to 2.74, and his 0.91 WHIP is still top-10 in MLB. He's still one of the sport's greatest talents, no questions asked.

If those are his numbers through seven starts (where two were relative duds, at least according to his standards), there's no reason to doubt that those numbers will improve come July. He earned the start in last year's Midsummer Classic just 11 games into his MLB career, and he remains must-see TV in his sophomore campaign.

One of the main draws of the All-Star Game is to create intriguing and alluring scenarios that don't often happen naturally throughout the season. And it doesn't get much more exciting than pitting Skenes against Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., and the rest of the American League's best. The Pirates are required to have at least one All-Star representative—Skenes has still earned the right to get the nod.

Oneil Cruz

It took a minute, but it looks like the Oneil Cruz breakout is finally here. He still boasts elite power metrics—he's in the 100th percentile in average exit velocity, bat speed, and barrel rate—and that is finally starting to convert to top-of-the-line production.

His 139 wRC+ easily makes him one of the league's most productive hitters; in addition to his power, he has also seen a significant increase in walk rate (17.4%, which puts him in the 97th percentile). He currently sports an OPS north of 1.000 against right-handed pitching while also leading MLB with 14 stolen bases. Dating back to last season, his 33 consecutive successful stolen base attempts mark the longest official streak in franchise history.

His defense is still a work in progress, however. Cruz's minus-9 defensive runs saved in center field is the worst total for any player at any position in 2025. This greatly hurts his value—despite being on pace to threaten to post a 40-40 season, he's been the Pirates' ninth-most valuable player this season according to Baseball-Reference's version of WAR. But if MLB wants the most productive and exciting players on display at the All-Star Game, then Cruz should be there.

Andrew Heaney

The Pirates haven't had two starting pitchers make the All-Star team since A.J. Burnett and Gerrit Cole in 2015. While Skenes being selected is a foregone conclusion, Heaney has been excellent in his own right.

The Bucs have had frequent success with veteran southpaws in recent years, and Heaney is looking like the best of the bunch. He's posted back to-back rough outings against a pair of high-powered offenses (the Cubs and Padres), but he's still sporting some strong numbers, including a 3.18 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and a batting average against of just .211. He's doing all that while averaging nearly six innings per start, so he's not only been extremely effective, but he's also providing length for a club that desperately needs it.

If the Pirates continue on their current trajectory (or anything close to it), the team will have little choice but to trade the left-hander at this year's deadline. Hopefully, before that happens, Heaney will be among the players representing the Pirates in Atlanta in July. If he rebounds and returns to his April form, he'd be a worthy selection.

Joey Bart

The Pirates took a flyer on Bart, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 draft, in April of last season, and that turned out to be a worthwhile gamble. The Pirates' catcher is quietly off to a pretty strong start to the 2025 campaign as well.

Bart posted just a 77 wRC+ across 503 plate appearances with the Giants before landing in Pittsburgh, where he had a breakout 2024 season. He slashed .265/.337/.462 after joining the Pirates and solidified himself as a viable starting catcher. His 2025 slash line is strong (.282/.408/.388) but comes with some caveats.

Bart's numbers contain some underlying concerns, including a drop in power (31st-percentile hard-hit rate and 92-point drop in isolated power from 2024), an elevated strikeout rate (27.2%), and some unsustainable luck at the plate (.411 batting average on balls in play, the second-highest among all players with at least 90 plate appearances). Still, Bart is producing offensively at a position where that isn't commonplace, so if his bat holds up into the summer, he could also receive All-Star consideration.