The end of the MLB regular season means the start of the playoffs, but it also kicks off award season.

Even though the Pittsburgh Pirates aren’t playing in the postseason, they do have some candidates for the first offseason accolade: the 2026 All-MLB Team. 

Paul Skenes may not have posted his typical superstar stats during th 2026 season. However, compared to the rest of MLB, Skenes’ stats were still elite.

The Pirates starting pitcher finished the season with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. That said, his advanced numbers really stood out. Skenes’ strikeout rate of 28.1 percent finished in the 85th percentile, his whiff rate of 28.2 percent was in the 73rd percentile, and his chase rate of 32.3 percent finished in the 70th percentile.

Clearly, Skenes was still one of the best punchout pitchers in baseball and deserved to be on the league’s All-MLB team because of that. 

Braxton Ashcraft’s first full season as a starting pitcher was a resounding success for him and the Pirates. Clearly, Pittsburgh has found another elite arm for its rotation.

Ashcraft finished the season with a 3.65 ERA, which ranked in the top 25 among qualified starting pitchers in baseball. The Pirates pitcher was also one of just a handful of players in baseball to pitch a complete game in 2026.

Unfortunately, Ashcraft’s season was cut short due to an injury, but the stats speak for themselves; he was one of baseball's best pitchers when he was on the mound.

Mason Montgomery started the season with an unknown role in Pittsburgh’s bullpen at the start of the season, to one of the game’s best closers by the end of the year.

Following the All-Star break, Montgomery logged a 1.42 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP along with 17 saves.

His end of the season was so strong that Montgomery was even named reliever of the month for September. 

Brandon Lowe not only had the best offensive season as a Pirate in 2026, but he also had one of his best seasons in the batter’s box and one of the best offensive seasons at his position in baseball. 

Lowe ended up hitting 35 home runs and recorded an .821 OPS during his first season in Pittsburgh. Those numbers led all MLB second basemen, and by a wide margin. 

Looking back at Nick Gonzalez’s stats from the season, it's clear he had one of the most underrated seasons at the plate, especially given his contact ability.

Gonzalez was the only third baseman with a batting average over .300, and he led the position with a .367 OBP.