The Pittsburgh Pirates’ best position player this year is veteran outfielder Bryan Reynolds. The switch-hitter is in his eighth big league campaign and is having one of his best years at the plate ever. On top of that, his outfield defense has improved from recent seasons. Despite making his presence known across the league for nearly a decade and posting career-best numbers, Reynolds isn’t getting many All-Star votes, and that’s putting it mildly. It only goes to show he is one of baseball’s most underrated players.
Bryan Reynolds‘ Lack Of All-Star Votes Shows How Underrated He Is
Impressive 2026 Season Thus Far
Reynolds is slashing an impressive .287/.400/.484 with a .387 wOBA, and 145 wRC+. He has a solid 21.2% strikeout percentage and is walking at an impressive 14.6% clip. Reynolds’ power is also starting to come around. He has 11 home runs over 335 plate appearances, and a .197 isolated slugging percentage. He currently has a 91.4 MPH exit velocity and 10.5% barrel percentage. His ISO since May 15 comes in at .270.
A Top-Ten Player In Baseball
Many of his numbers are some of the best of his career. His wRC+, wOBA, and walk rate are all career-bests. His OPS is the second-best of his career thus far. It is also the first time since 2021 that Reynolds has put up an OPS over .850. Reynolds’ exit velocity and 47.6% hard hit rate are also career-highs. He already has +20 batting run value, which nearly matches his 2024 mark (his last All-Star season) at +22, but in 305 fewer plate appearances.
These aren’t just some of the best numbers of his career, either; they’re some of the best among all NL outfielders. He owns the eighth-best batting average, ninth-best slugging percentage, fourth-best wOBA, OPS, and wRC+, along with the best OBP. Currently, the only qualified batters in the entire sport that are reaching base more frequently than Reynolds are Nick Kurtz, Yordan Alvarez, Shohei Ohtani, Yandy Diaz, and Ivan Herrera.
Even Reynolds’ defense is trending in the right direction. He has +2 defensive runs saved and only -3 outs above average this year. He is covering 33.5 feet on his jump on flyballs hit his way. That’s a step faster than in 2025, when he came in at 31.7 feet. It is even better than when he was a Gold Glove finalist at center field in 2021 at 32.9 feet.
No Love From Voters
The most recent All-Star voting update made one thing clear: voters do not like Bryan Reynolds very much. Despite ranking as one of the best hitters in the sport this year and one of the best NL outfielders, Reynolds did not even crack the top 20 vote getters among his outfield peers in the NL. The 20th highest vote receiver among NL OF’s is Cincinnati Reds’ JJ Bleday, with just under 290K.
It is even more puzzling how Reynolds is getting no votes when you see some of the names who are. Atlanta Braves’ utility man Mauricio Dubon has the 11th most votes. He has spent nearly as much time in the infield as he has in the outfield. Philadelphia Phillies rookie Justin Crawford has zero fWAR and a 77 wRC+ over 230 plate appearances, yet has the 13th most votes. Former World Series hero and Crawford’s teammate, Adolis Garcia, has an even lower wRC+ at 65, and comes in at #15. The most egregious example is LA Dodgers outfielder Kyle Tucker, who has the 9th-most votes. Tucker has a league-average 100 wRC+ and just 0.6 fWAR through 74 games.
An Unfortunate Regularity
Given that fans have a significant say on who makes the All-Star game and who doesn’t, it ultimately turns into a popularity contest. It is, unfortunately, not extremely surprising that Reynolds is not getting the love he deserves. The Pirates are a smaller-market team with little success over the last 30 years, and there are plenty of players whose name value carries enough weight to put them over Reynolds. There is still a strong chance that Reynolds makes the All-Star game, given injuries and players opting out, though the fact that he can’t get in via voting alone is a testament to his underratedness.
Main Photo: Philip G. Pavely- Imagn Images
