Reynolds named team MVP, Skenes honored by BBWAA

Bryan Reynolds joined three Pittsburgh Pirates greats when he was voted winner of the Roberto Clemente Award as team MVP for the third time by members of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Reynolds, who also won the honors in 2021 and ’22, joins Andrew McCutchen, Dave Parker and Andy Van Slyke as the only players to win the team’s Clemente Award at least three times since its inception in 1973. McCutchen won six times (2009, ’12-15 and ’17), while Parker (1975, ’77-78) and Van Slyke (1987-88 and ’92) won three each.

“Anytime you get in the same sentence as those kind of players, it’s pretty special and pretty cool just being mentioned with them,” Reynolds said. “Yeah, it’s pretty special.”

Rookie right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes was the unanimous winner of the Steve Blass Award as the team’s top pitcher and finished second in Clemente Award voting. For the second consecutive season, McCutchen won the voting for the Chuck Tanner Award as the most media-friendly player on the Pirates.

Reynolds leads the Pirates in batting (.276), on-base percentage (.343), home runs (22) and RBIs (85), is tied for the team lead with three triples and ranks second in OPS (.787) and runs (70).

“He’s had a really good season,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “He’s had a really good year. He posts every day. Yeah, I would say it’s been a really solid season.”

The 29-year-old Reynolds, who was selected to the All-Star Game for the second time in his six-year career, enjoyed a 25-game hitting streak through late June that is the longest in the majors this season. He ranks fifth in the National League with 166 hits.

“I think you see the maturation of his at-bats,” Shelton said. “He knows how to navigate at-bats. I think that’s what happens when you play. You start to get at-bats that pile up. He’s gotten better right-handed. I would say that’s the other place.”

The 22-year-old Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, is tied for the most wins (11) and quality starts (15) and leads Pirates starters with a 1.99 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, a .200 batting average against and 167 strikeouts in 131 innings over 22 starts in his first full pro season.

A leading candidate for NL rookie of the year honors, Skenes has had seven or more strikeouts in 16 starts, including six with nine and two with 11. He became only the second MLB pitcher since 1913 to post a sub-2.00 ERA through his first 22 starts, joining Steve Rogers (1.95, 1973-74), and is the first in baseball’s modern era to post a sub-2.00 ERA and 150-plus strikeouts through his first 22 starts.