The Pittsburgh Pirates will have three representatives in the NL All-Star game this year, as Andrew McCutchen, Josh Harrison, and Tony Watson have all been named to the team.
McCutchen was named to the team for the fourth year in a row. He led all NL outfielders with 4,519,440 votes. He’s also the first Pirates player to start an All-Star game since Jason Bay in 2006. McCutchen currently has a .322/.423/.542 line in 383 plate appearances this year. Heading into today’s game, he had a 1.128 OPS in 139 plate appearances since the start of June.
Harrison and Watson were named to the team by Mike Matheny. He’s been a huge spark for the Pirates this year, hitting for a .299/.336/.448 line, and playing second base, third base, shortstop, and both corner outfield spots. Watson has been fantastic in relief. His 0.89 ERA in 40.2 innings this year ranks third among MLB relievers. His 2.54 xFIP ranks 14th in baseball among relievers.
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
Is Jay Hey good value for fantasy baseball? if not, how many people around country are saying “Jay Who”?
No surprise for McCutchen or Watson, as they have just been outstanding and had the numbers that demanded all star recognition.
But, what a pleasant surprise to see Harrison get included. Well deserved. Harrison is just a winner. He is not the biggest guy, fastest guy, or the most athletically gifted player. But, he is a relentless worker, versatile, and plays a number of positions well enough to be more than adequate. Plus, at the plate, I have never seen him completely over-matched – and that included facing guys like Verlander and Strasburg. I remember watching him play for Altoona 3-4 years ago, and thinking this guy does not look like much – but, by the end of the game he was 3-4 and drove in a couple of runs.
Physically, he kind of reminds me of Kirby Puckett – although he is not as gifted as Puckett was. He kind of also reminds me of Coco Crisp – in that he is often overlooked, but always seems to impact games one way or another – with his bat, glove, legs, whatever. Like I said, the kid is a winner. I would be very supportive of moving Walker to first base, in order to get Harrison more at bats.
Another reason to hate Brewers fans – voting in Aramis at 3b. Clearly Frazier should be the man there. Brewers fans don’t get it – this is for home field advantage. The NL needs to win. Thankfully Tulo had such a commanding lead they couldn’t vote in Segura – although they got him into 2nd place.
Ramirez as the starting third base is a testiment to all how weak that position is in the NL. If Alvarez did not have such a horrific May, he probably would have been deserving. I guess you could argue that Carpenter and Rendon were both better choices than Ramirez, as well as Todd Frazier.
Happy for all three, especially JHey (not taking anything away from Clutch)
This is fantastic- no matter what happens with Harrison the rest of his career, this will always be something he can cherish. He’s been our MVP so far this season, and i’m glad he is being rewarded for it. It also raises his trade value significantly if we were so inclined although this is exactly the type of player we were MISSING last year that makes the difference on a championship style team.
Love the energy, versatility and contributions Harrison has brought to the Pirates this year. And it’s certainly not a coincidence the Pirates have turned their season around once Harrison was inserted into the lineup on a regular basis. However, the Pirates MVP is Cutch.
The legend of JHey continues to grow – what a great story – hard word and energy matter more than height
Baseball as a sport favors shorter position players – smaller strike zone – and sprinters are usually shorter rather than taller. So JHey’s size works to his advantage.
Too bad Walker got hurt, probably cost him a slot – probably Jhay’s slot.
Hoping that Walker gets a chance via the normal opt outs and passes due to real and imagined injuries.
Yup, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him go, or Martin either. Both are deserving.
And not to go off on a tangent, but last year’s Pirates All-Star pitcher, Jeff Locke, is just blowing me away with his starts since he came back. He was just nails today head-to-head with AJ. Is it still too early to say “HE’S BACKKKK!!!”??
Too bad Walker got hurt, probably cost him a slot – probably Jhay’s slot.
That’s awesome. So happy for all 3!