Pittsburgh Pirates midseason award winners (featuring several surprise picks)

The 2025 MLB season is now halfway complete, and the All-Star Game is just a couple weeks away. The Pirates have obviously not been good by any means, but they have had some solid performances out of a handful of their players.

None of the Pirates' offensive players were on the All-Star Game voting leaderboards at the end of phase one. That shows, as just one hitter won one of Rum Bunter's midseason honors. Here are the Pirates' 2025 midseason award winners, as we see it.

These Pirates have earned midseason award recognition through the first 81 games of the season.

MVP & Cy Young: Paul Skenes

Paul Skenes is easily the MVP on this team, leading in fWAR at 3.4. His dominance on the mound should get him the start in the All-Star Game, too, earning the team's Cy Young award (and potentially the NL's, too, at the end of the year). Skenes has posted a 2.12 ERA with a 2.49 FIP and a 9.34 K/9. The Pirates have not given him much help this season with his 4-7 record, but nonetheless, he has easily been the best player on this team.

Silver Slugger: Andrew McCutchen

Andrew McCutchen has easily been the top hitter in this linuep due to his consistency and productivity at the plate. This season, McCutchen has posted a 107 wRC+ with eight home runs and a .744 OPS. Oneil Cruz comes in a tight second place, but his slump knocked him out of the running here.

Most Improved: David Bednar

After the opening Marlins series, David Bednar still looked far too iffy to be the Pirates' closer following his awful 2024 season. At the halfway point in the season, it is safe to say Bednar is back, and his 2.17 FIP, 12.69 K/9, and 2.60 BB/9 are all career bests, to go with a great 2.93 ERA. After a year where his ERA was 5.77, he has easily been the most improved player on the team.

Rookie of the Year: Mike Burrows

There have not been many rookies to play in Pittsburgh this season, making Mike Burrows the top one. Braxton Ashcraft has found more success, but not enough innings to go with Burrows' decent performance. Burrows has generated a 4.45 ERA with a 4.76 FIP and a 8.90 K/9. He has shown great signs of improvement so far, and he is building a dark horse Rookie of the Year campaign if he can match his progress in the second half.

Best Offseason Pickup: Caleb Ferguson

Out of all the one-year deals the Pirates picked up, Caleb Ferguson has been the top performer. In a high-leverage role, Ferguson has generated a 2.91 ERA with a 2.96 FIP across 34 innings. This honor would have gone to Andrew Heaney, but he has blown up his last two starts, completely inflating his season numbers.