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Biggest Surprises From the Pittsburgh Pirates 2026 Season
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- Biggest Surprises From the Pittsburgh Pirates 2026 Season
(Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images)
Every season, some players will perform exactly as the team envisions, and some game plans will play out without a hiccup. Then, there are also those storylines that come as a
Here are three of the biggest surprises from the Pittsburgh Pirates ' 2026 season.
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Esmerlyn Valdez's Breakout Rookie Season
Esmerlyn Valdez came into the 2026 season as a prospect who had the potential to make a small impact with his first taste of big-league action. That said, no one foresaw the 22-year-old turning in a
Valdez appeared in 72 games for the Pirates during the regular season and logged a .855 OPS in 287 plate appearances. The numbers that really pop out on his stat sheet are the 14 doubles and 17 home runs.
The advanced numbers also paint a successful picture for Valdez's surprising season, as the rookie had an average exit velocity of 91.9 mph and a hard-hit rate of 49.3 percent
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Unfortunately, Valdez's season came to a premature end after sustaining a hamstring injury . Still, that doesn't take anything away from his surprising first big-league season.
Sep 24, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Henry Davis (32) and starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) confer on the mound against the St. Louis Cardinals during the fourth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Paul Skenes' Velocity Drop
In hindsight, perhaps everyone should have been a little concerned about Paul Skenes after his velocity slightly dropped from his rookie season to his sophomore season. The counting stats still looked good, though.
Still, Skenes' velocity drop during the 2026 season is still shocking when looking back at it.
Skenes' fastball had an average speed of 98.8 mpg (99th percentile) in 2024 and 98.1 mph (95th percentile) in 2025. After 32 starts in 2026, Skenes' average fastball velocity was just 96.8 mph, and the amount of hard contact the pitcher gave up rose, too.
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GM Ben Cherington said in the middle of the season that the organization wasn't concerned about where Skenes is as a pitcher right now. However, with how surprising the velocity drop was this season, it'll be a massive storyline early in 2027.
Pittsburgh's Trade Deadline Aggressiveness
For years, the Pirates have been one of the teams everyone looks to leading up to the trade deadline, but not for the right reasons. Pittsburgh always seems to have veterans who have solid seasons, and the front office looks to capitalize on them.
The 2026 season was different, though.
The Pirates clearly needed help leading up to August 3, and that help was in the bullpen. The big question was whether or not the front office would actually make the moves to address it.
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To everyone's surprise, Cherington was one of the busiest executives around baseball leading up to the deadline, and added Camilo Doval, Luke Weaver, and Kirby Yates to their relief core.
To see the Pirates be buyers at the deadline was a surprise, and a pleasant one at that.
