This Pirate's remarkable May could sneak him a surprise All-Star selection

Bailey Falter capped off a remarkable May with 6.1 scoreless innings in the Pirates' dominant 5-0 victory over the Padres. Falter finished with the best ERA in a single month (at least six starts) in Pirates history. While all eyes are on Paul Skenes to be an All-Star, Falter may join him if this incredible run continues.

Falter is an extremely underrated pitcher in baseball, as he pitches to contact and finds ways to get batters out. He does this with a low velocity fastball, averaging around 92 mph. He throws it 42% of the time, along with a sinker that registers as 19% of his total pitch usage. Combined, that equates to 61%, and surprisingly it works. His fastball run value is now ranked in the 98th percentile, two slots away from the top in baseball.

His lack of offspeed makes it seem easy for batters to guess fastball, but he still manages to get outs. Falter efficiently attacks the strike zone with both varieties of heater. If he is out of the zone, he struggles, as his chase rate is very low at 25.2%. Hitters also whiff at a low rate of 17.6% against him. He doesn't even get strikeouts either, at a low 15.9% clip. Still, without all of that, he has found a way to become a top arm in the Pirates rotation and, after May, is looking like a possible All-Star.

Pirates' Bailey Falter could be a surprise All-Star selection after historic May.

In May, Falter posted an 0.76 ERA across 35.2 innings with a WHIP of 0.84. Opponents batted .154 against him, along with just 19 strikeouts and a 3.48 FIP.

Falter's ERA is the best in a single month with at least six starts, and ranks third in franchise history for lowest in a single month, behind Zane Smith (0.66) in September of 1990 and Paul Skenes (0.75) September of 2024. Smith's was a bit more impressive, with about six more innings tacked on, but he did it in just five starts. Skenes got his done in 24 innings.

If Falter keeps things up, maybe he travels to Atlanta as an All-Star for the first time in his career. He is truly crafting something special this season, and the Pirates luckily have him for another three years. The offense is finally coming together, and with Falter giving consistent starts, maybe this team can carry some momentum into June.