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It is midway through the month of June, and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in first place in the National League Central. Whether that is through the Pirates' ability on the field or the struggles of the rest of the division … fans in Pittsburgh will not be complaining.
Yes, the Pirates may have lost nine of ten games at one point in the season, taking them from a 1.5-game lead at the top of the division to a 0.5-game advantage, but this is also a Pirates team that was 12 games above .500 near the end of April.
It has taken a veritable team effort to get the Pirates to this point, but the club will likely need continued strong performances from its star players to maintain its status at the top of the NL Central. With the MLB All-Star Game just a few weeks away, which of the Pirates' top players deserve to represent the team in Seattle?
Pirates: 3 players who must be All-Stars in 2023
David Bednar
The Pirates' sole All-Star selection in 2022, David Bednar has been even more unhittable in his follow-up campaign. Bednar's ERA is down from 2.61 to 1.78 and the lock-down reliever has walked just one of the 99 batters he has faced in 2023. His ability to close out games (14 saves in 15 appearances) is a major reason the Pirates are unexpectedly holding down first place in the NL Central.
Consistency will be the key though for Bednar as the season rolls on. Last year, the closer posted an 8.18 ERA from June 19 until the All-Star break, then missed all of August and most of September with injury. The Pirates have not asked Bednar to pitch in multiple innings this year, which certainly helps, and the man with an upper-90s fastball and immaculate control should easily make the All-Star Game for the second consecutive year.
Mitch Keller
In Mitch Keller, the Pirates arguably have their first ace pitcher since Jameson Taillon left the club in 2018. Keller has cooled off a bit since consecutive scoreless starts in May — which included a 13-strikeout game and four-hit shutout — but Keller still has a superb 3.41 ERA and ranks among the league leaders with 101 strikeouts on the season.
It will be interesting to see if Keller can sustain his high level of production. The right-hander has never pitched more than 159 innings in a season before and he is already at the 87-inning mark. Regardless of these concerns, the advanced metrics love Keller, and he should be the first starting pitcher to represent the Pirates at the All-Star game since 2015 when A.J. Burnett and Gerrit Cole got the call.
Bryan Reynolds
Bryan Reynolds is what can be described as a pure hitter. He gets on base a ton and hits the ball to all fields — with power too. Like the rest of the Pirates team, Reynolds was on fire in early April and has regressed a bit since. More than one-third of his RBI came in the first eight games of the season, a stretch in which Reynolds batted .424.
Even with some recent struggles, Reynolds is right in line with his career average of .281 (he is currently hitting .280), and is also on pace for his most prolific year in terms of runs batted in and doubles. Plus, his advanced metrics suggest a turnaround. Reynolds' expected batting average is .298, and he ranks in the 96th percentile in hard-hit percentage and the 92nd percentile in expected slugging percentage.
