Pirates Offense Makes History Despite All-Star Snubs

Pirates Offense National League/MLB Rankings

The Pirates become just the second team in MLB history that went from scoring the least runs one season and then leading MLB in runs the following season, as the St. Louis Cardinals did so, going from worst in 1986 to first in 1987, where they made the World Series.

Perhaps the biggest snubs were newly added second baseman Brandon Lowe and outfielder Bryan Reynolds, both of whom have been excellent in 2026.

Lowe leads all MLB second basemen with 21 home runs, 64 RBI and slugging percentage (.487), while Reynolds has the sixth-best on-base percentage (.400), seventh-most walks (62) and the 15th-best OPS (.877) in all of baseball.

The Pirates have also gotten great contributions from free agent signing in right fielder/first baseman Ryan O'Hearn, who recently hit three home runs and a franchise-record 10 RBI in the 12-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on July 7.

Pittsburgh relies on contact hitters like outfielder Jake Mangum, batting .310, and third baseman Nick Gonzales, who has the fifth-best batting average in baseball (.308), amongst qualified batters.

They are also doing all of this without the likes of center fielder Oneil Cruz, first baseman Spencer Horwitz, rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin and catcher Endy Rodríguez, all of whom have been great themselves.

Rookie Esmerlyn Valdez has hit 10 home runs in 27 games, marking one of the best starts to a career in MLB history, and other players have stepped up as well, which creates a top lineup in baseball.

Skenes, Ashcraft Praise Offense at All-Star Game

While the Pirates didn't have any hitters at the All-Star Game, both right-handed starting pitchers Paul Skenes and Braxton Ashcraft represented the team there this year.

Skenes won't start for the NL, but it's his third All-Star nod in three seasons, no small feat, while Ashcraft earned his first All-Star nod this season.

Neither pitcher will throw for the NL either, as they both pitched this weekend in the sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park, July 11-12, but had nothing but great things to say about their offense.

"Yeah, I think they should be here," Skenes said on the Pirates All-Star snubs. "We've tied for the most runs in the league, right, to this point. So you don't do that without having really good offensive players, and I know that 1-9 we're very good and I know we don't have the [Shohei] Ohtani or [Kyle] Schwarber in there that's like, the guy.

"We have a lot of guys who are really good. I think that should be recognized. I do know that if somebody makes the All-Star Game, somebody else doesn't, but I think there are three or four guys that probably could be here from our team that aren't."

Ashcraft has excelled this season, but he contributes a lot of that to the offense making his outings much more comfortable and easy to pitch in.

He did note that having a lineup where all the batters are all doing their part somewhat diminishes a particular individual, but that it bodes well for them in their hopes of making the postseason for the first time since 2015.

“Yeah absolutely. I think that we have the best offense in the league," Ashcraft said. "I think we’ve scored the most runs, have the most hits, lead the league in OPS I believe. 

“So, I think the biggest thing that kind of hurts us in that regard is the fact that everyone’s contributing, which is a good problem to have, I guess...

“...Hopefully this year is the start of something that we can look at as a league, that guys are just kind of forcing their hand and that Pittsburgh is a team to come into anywhere we go and nobody really wants to pitch against us..."