Gray and Hernandez headline Pirates’ 2026 Minor League organization awards

Pittsburgh handed out its final slate of Minor League honors for the 2026 season, with Murf Gray named the Honus Wagner Player of the Year and Seth Hernandez taking home the Bob Friend Pitcher of the Year.

By The Apex Times Newsroom2 min readAI-assisted Apex article

The Pirates closed their 2026 Minor League organization awards announcements on Thursday, recognizing eight players and one staff member for standout performance across the system. The awards were voted on by baseball operations staff.

Murf Gray was the centerpiece of the awards, earning Honus Wagner Player of the Year honors as Pittsburgh’s No. 4 prospect and No. 89 overall. In his first professional season, Gray hit a combined.305 with 27 doubles, 32 home runs, 97 RBIs, a.402 on-base percentage and a.969 OPS across Single-A Bradenton, High-A Greensboro and Double-A Altoona.

Gray’s power output helped define the Pirates’ Minor League home run conversation in 2026. The team noted he led all Pittsburgh Minor Leaguers with 32 home runs, and it placed that total among the higher single-season marks in the organization’s modern era.

On the pitching side, Seth Hernandez earned Bob Friend Pitcher of the Year. Pittsburgh’s No. 1 prospect and No. 9 overall, Hernandez went 6-1 with a 2.43 ERA, 118 strikeouts and a.181 batting average against in 18 starts between Bradenton and Greensboro.

The release also addressed Hernandez’s timeline, noting his season ended with a left oblique injury in late July, and that he was “100%” from early September as he set sights on the next step in 2027.

Other category winners included Jesus Castillo as Bill Mazeroski Defender of the Year, Derek Diamond as Kent Tekulve Reliever of the Year, Yordany De Los Santos as Omar Moreno Baserunner of the Year, and Irwin Ramirez as Rookie-level Pitcher of the Year.

The Pirates added Johan De Los Santos as Rookie-level Player of the Year and named Cecilio Beltre Staff Member of the Year. Beltre was recognized for a long run with the organization, including a role as a senior advisor/mentor in the Dominican Summer League.

Why It Matters

The awards highlight which parts of Pittsburgh’s farm system produced the most impact in 2026, from Gray’s power to Hernandez’s starter production.
Category winners can shape internal expectations for 2027 development plans, particularly for players described as leading their positions within the organization.
The Pirates’ Minor League recognition spans both performance and role flexibility, with Castillo singled out for defensive value across multiple spots.
By separating slugging, baserunning, and relief traits into distinct honors, Pittsburgh underscored how it evaluates player strengths beyond a single stat line.

Sources

Key Facts

The Pirates announced their final Minor League organization awards for 2026, recognizing eight players and one staff member.
Honus Wagner Player of the Year: Murf Gray, who hit.305 with 32 home runs and a.969 OPS across Bradenton, Greensboro and Altoona.
Bob Friend Pitcher of the Year: Seth Hernandez, who went 6-1 with a 2.43 ERA and 118 strikeouts in 18 starts between Bradenton and Greensboro.
Willie Stargell Slugger of the Year: Murf Gray, who led all Pirates Minor Leaguers with 32 home runs in 2026.
Kent Tekulve Reliever of the Year: Derek Diamond, who reached Triple-A Indianapolis for the first time and posted a 5-0 record with a 3.14 ERA in 29 games.
Omar Moreno Baserunner of the Year: Yordany De Los Santos, who swiped 96 bases over the past two seasons and hit 19 home runs during 2026 across Bradenton and Greensboro.
Staff Member of the Year: Cecilio Beltre, recognized for 25 years with the organization, including the past nine as a senior advisor/mentor in the Dominican Summer League.