Pirates Best Starting Lineup of 21st Century Revealed

Martin signed with the Toronto Blue Jays that offseason and spent the next four years with them before ending his career after a return to the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 2019 season.

First Base: Josh Bell

Bell was a big time get for the Pirates in the 2011 MLB Draft out of Jesuit College Preparatory School in Dallas, as they convinced him to forgo his commitment to Texas, signing for a record $5 million after taking him in the second round.

He played five years for the Pirates from 2016-20, slashing .261/.349/.466 for an OPS of .814 in 552 games, with 496 hits, 105 doubles, 13 triples, 86 home runs, 309 RBis and 260 walks to 417 strikeouts.

Bell had his best season in 2019, slashing .302/.376/.648 for an OPS of 1.024 before the All-Star Break, with 102 hits, 30 double, three triple, 27 home runs and 84 RBIs.

His play earned him his sole All-Star nod and an appearance at the Home Run Derby, where he didn't make it past the first round.

Bell hit just 10 home runs and .233 the rest of the season, as the Pirates eventually ended with a 69-93 record and fired manager Clint Hurdle, general manager Neal Huntington and president Frank Coonelly.

He spent one more season with the Pirates in 2020, slashing .226/.305/.364 for an OPS of .669 in 57 games in the shortened season, before current general manager Ben Cherington traded him to the Washington Nationals for pitchers Will Crowe and Eddy Yean.

Second Base: Neil Walker

Neil Walker already was well-known in Pittsburgh before the Pirates selected him with the 11th overall pick in the 2004 MLB Draft, coming from Pine-Richland High School in Gibsonia, Pa., about 17.5 miles north of PNC Park.

Walker spent seven years with his hometown team from 2009-15, slashing .272/.338/.431 for an OPS of .769, with 833 hits, 174 doubles, 17 triples, 93 home runs, 418 RBIs and 278 walks to 593 strikeouts.

He eventually moved to second base full-time for the Pirates in 2011 and played a major role in their success the final three seasons, making the playoffs each time.

Walker had his best season in 2014, slashing .271/.342/.467 for an OPS of .809 in 137 games, with 139 hits, 25 doubles, three triples, 23 home runs, 76 RBIs and 45 walks to 88 strikeouts.

He broke the single season record for most home runs by a Pirates second baseman, which Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski previously held with 19 in 1958.

Walker also won the Silver Slugger Award, becoming the first Pirates second baseman to do so since Johnny Ray in 1983.

The Pirates traded Walker to the New York Mets that offseason for left-handed pitcher Jon Niese and he played for four more teams before retiring after the 2020 season.

Walker is currently a full-time color commentator on Pirates games and is the brother-in-law of current Pirates manager Don Kelly.

Shortstop: Jack Wilson

Jack Wilson joined the Pirates in 2000 in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, with right-handed pitcher Jason Christiansen going the other way.

He made his MLB debut in 2001 and spent the better part of nine seasons with the Pirates. He slashed .269/.311/.376 for an OPS of .687 in 1,159 games, with 1,158 hits, 217 doubles, 32 triples, 60 home runs, 389 RBIs and 245 walks to 516 strikeouts.

Wilson had his best season with the Pirates in 2024, slashing .308/.335/.459 for an OPS of .794 in 157 games, 201 hits, 41 doubles, 12 triples, 11 home runs, 59 RBIs and 26 walks to 71 strikeouts.

He earned his sole All-Star nod and his Silver Slugger Award, the only awards/honors he earned in his career.

Wilson also tied for the MLB lead in triples, was the ninth National League shortstop with 200 hits, the first Pirates player with 200 hits since Hall of Famer Dave Parker in 1977 and the first Pirates shortstop since Hall of Famer Honus Wagner.

Pirates fans loved Wilson for his defensive work, despite never winning a Gold Glove Award. He lead all NL shortstops with assists, putouts, total chances and double plays in 2004 and all MLB shortstops in assists, total chances and double plays in 2005.

His 129 double plays in 2004 broke the club record and his work with second baseman Jose Castillo made for a sensational duo for Pirates fans to watch.

The Pirates traded Wilson to the Seattle Mariners in 2009 and he spent three seasons with them before finishing his MLB career after two seasons with the Atlanta Braves in 2012.

Third Baseman: Josh Harrison

Josh Harrison joined the Pirates on July 30, 2009 along with right-handed pitchers Kevin Hart and José Ascanio in exchange for left-handed pitchers John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny, who went to the Chicago Cubs.

Harrison eventually made it up to the MLB with the Pirates in 2011 and played 229 games over the next three seasons, slashing .250/.282/.367 for an OPS of .648 with 133 hits, 23 doubles, nine triples, seven home runs, 46 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.

His best season with the Pirates came in 2014, as he played a career-high 143 games. He hit .298 through 72 games and played five different positions, earning an All-Star nod as a utilityman for the National League.

Harrison finished second for the NL battling title at .315, as former Pirates first baseman Justin Morneau, with the Colorado Rockies at the time, didn't play in the final two games and finished with a .319 batting average.

He finished ninth in NL MVP voting in 2014, slashing .315/.347/.490 for an OPS of .837, with 164 hits, 38 doubles, seven triples, 13 home runs, 52 RBIs, 18 stolen bases and 22 walks to 81 strikeouts.

Harrison continued on as a utilityman in 2015, spending most of his time at third base after Pedro Álvarez moved to first base.

He also agreed to a four-year extension with the Pirates, with club options for 2019 and 2020.

Harrison took over as starting second baseman in 2016, following the Pirates trading Walker to the Mets, and earned another All-Star nod in 2017.

He had numerous great moments for the franchise, including great fielding plays, getting out of rundowns in hilarious ways. He could also do what was asked of him during their most successful run this century, with three straight playoff appearances from 2013-15.

This included breaking up two no-hitters against Detroit Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander on May 18, 2012 and hitting a walk-off home run off of Dodgers left-hander Rich Hill in the top of the 10th inning, becoming the first player to breakup a no-hitter in extra innings on walk-off.

He finished his time with the Pirates with 842 games, slashing .277/.317/.408 for an OPS of .725, with 773 hits, 154 doubles, 27 triples, 52 home runs, 269 RBIs, 75 stolen bases and 120 walks to 457 strikeouts.

While Harrison didn't feature at third base as much as some of the other on this list did at their position, there is no denying his impact on the team and their winning culture in the 2010s.

Outfielder: Brian Giles

Brian Giles was dominant during his five-season stay with the Pirates, joining the team on Nov. 19, 1998, after they sent left-handed pitcher Ricardo Rincón to the Cleveland Indians.

Giles slashed .308/.426/.591 for an OPS of 1.018 in 715 games for Pittsburgh, with 782 hits, 501 runs, 174 doubles, 26 triples, 165 home runs, 506 RBIs and an impressive 519 walks to 338 strikeouts.

He has the best slugging percentage and OPS in Pirates history, while ranking sixth in batting average, seventh n home runs, 13th in walks and 26th in RBIs. Giles hit at least 30 home runs in each of his five seasons with the Pirates and earned back-to-back All-Star nods in 2000 and 2001.

The Pirates traded Giles to the San Diego Padres on Aug. 26, 2003, bringing back outfielder Jason Bay, left-handed pitcher Óliver Pérez and minor league player Corey Stewart. Giles spent the final seven seasons with the Padres through 2009 before retiring after the 2010 season.

Outfielder: Jason Bay

While the Pirates lost Giles, they did bring back a solid outfielder in Bay, who served as one of the better players for the team in the 2000s.

He didn't start the 2024 season until May 7, but still put up sensational numbers for a rookie. He batted .282, while leading all NL rookies with 26 home runs, 82 RBIs, 54 extra base hits, 226 total bases and a .550 slugging percentage.

Bay would end up winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award, becoming the first ever Canadian baseball player to do so.

He went on to have great success with the Pirates, making back-to-back All-Star appearances the following two seasons, including 2006 at PNC Park.

Bay also signed a four-year contract with the Pirates after the 2025 season, worth $18.25 million.

The Pirates would send Bay and infielder Josh Wilson in a trade to the Boston Red Sox on July 31, 2008.

This ended up as a three-team trade, with the Red Sox sending outfielder Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers, who sent third baseman Andy LaRoche and right-handed pitcher Bryan Morris to the Pirates and the Red Sox then sent right-handed pitcher Craig Morris and outfielder/first baseman Brandon Moss to the Pirates as well.

Bay finished his time in Pittsburgh with a slash line of .281/.375./.515 for an OPS of .890. He amassed 729 hits, 151 doubles, 18 triples, 139 home runs and 452 RBIs.

Reuter mentioned that he also considered Bryan Reynolds and Starling Marte, but went with Bay in the end.

Outfielder: Andrew McCutchen

Andrew McCutchen is by far the best player on this list and he stands amongst the rest as one of the greatest Pirates players of all-time.

McCutchen has slashed .281/.372/.467 for an OPS of .839 in 1,713 games and 12 seasons with the Pirates. He also has 1,781 hits, 986 runs, 351 doubles, 45 triples, 248 home runs, 875 RBIs, 186 stolen bases and 885 walks, plus 2,962 total bases.

He ranks amongst the best Pirates hitters of all-time, including third in home runs, fourth in walks, fifth in extra bases hits (644), sixth in RBIs, seventh in both doubles and total bases and ninth in hits. McCutchen also ranks ninth in games played, 10th in WAR (42.9) and sixth in offensive WAR (50.3).

Amongst his accolades include the 2013 National League MVP, a five-time All-Star from 2011-15, a four-time Silver Slugger Award winner from 2012-15 and the 2012 Gold Glove Award.

The Pirates took McCutchen with the 11th overall pick in the 2005 MLB Draft and he spent the first nine seasons of his career with the team from 2009-17.

Pittsburgh eventually traded McCutchen to the San Francisco Giants for Reynolds and right-handed pitcher Kyle Crick ahead of the 2018 season. McCutchen returned to the Pirates ahead of the 2023 season and has spent his past three years with the team, but it's not known if he'll return next season.

Starting Pitcher: Gerrit Cole

This pick makes sense for potentially just after the end of this season, as Paul Skenes will likely win the NL Cy Young Award for the 2025 campaign and that would make more sense.

Gerrit Cole still had a strong career for the Pirates, after they took him first overall in the 2011 MLB Draft.

Cole started 127 games for the Pirates from 2013-17, with a 59-42 record, a 3.50 ERA over 782.1 innings pitched, 734 strikeouts to 203 walks and a 1.22 WHIP.

His best season for Pittsburgh came in 2015, when he posted a 19-8 record over 32 starts, a 2.60 ERA over 208.0 innings pitched, 208 strikeouts to 44 walks and a 1.09 WHIP, earning him his first All-Star nod.

The Pirates eventually traded Cole to the Houston Astros on Jan. 13, 2018, bringing back right-handed pitchers in Michael Feliz and Joe Musgrove, plus third baseman Colin Moran and outfielder Jason Martin.

Cole spent two seasons with the Astros, before signing a nine-year, $324 million contract with the New York Yankees on Dec. 18, 2019, a franchise record and the largest signing for a pitcher.

He has had an excellent career outside of Pittsburgh, winning the American League Cy Young in 2023, leading the MLB in strikeouts in 2019 and 2023, the AL in wins in 2021 and in ERA in 2019 and 2022, plus a five-time All-Star (2018-19, 2021-23), and a three-time MLB All-First Team honoree (2019, 2021, 2023).