Here are the numbers for the qualified Pirates players (those who have played a significant amount of time in the 2nd half):
The only two possibilities there are Ronny Cedeno and Ryan Doumit. Just picking from those two, my vote would be Doumit, despite him playing just 25 games and not playing spectacular defense. His bat has been huge for the Pirates, and the .295 average (which is even higher now because of a 2-hit game earlier today) is very impressive. Cedeno's .285 mark is good, but doesn't come with any power so you have to take it with a grain of salt. Andrew McCutchen has been thoroughly disappointing despite hitting those six home runs. Garrett Jones home run total jumps out, but the .240 average isn't doing it for me. If Derrek Lee wouldn't have gone on the DL, he would certainly be in this discussion, but you can't be an MVP when you've played only 8 games. Doumit is my offensive MVP, but not my team MVP. Let's look at the pitchers:
Looking at those numbers, there is only one option, and that's James McDonald. His 3.29 ERA, 54 strikeouts, and 60.2 innings all lead the team by a good margin. There is really nothing else I need to say to prove this point. He has far and away been the Pirates best pitcher this 2nd half.
That said, McDonald hasn't been PHENOMENAL. When I made the prediction, the Pirates were in first place and getting contributions from everybody. McDonald has really been the only pitcher that hasn't fallen off, which was the basis for my prediction in the first place, but I honestly wasn't expecting Correia and Maholm to get shelled like they did (I did however fully expect Karstens to regress). Despite everything, my prediction looks right on. Here's McDonalds 2nd half starts:
7/19 vs. CIN: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
7/25 vs. ATL: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K
7/30 vs. PHI: 5.0 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
8/4 vs. CHC: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
8/9 vs. SFG: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
8/15 vs. STL: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
8/21 vs. CIN: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
8/26 vs. STL: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
8/31 vs. HOU: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
9/5 vs. HOU: 7.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Only three of those ten starts were not quality starts, and the Pirates were in all of those contests, outside of the Phillies game.
I think my point has been proven. There is still a good amount of baseball to be played, but James McDonald has been very good for the Pirates this 2nd half and seems to be shining when no one else has played very well.
I'm not trying to brag... alright yeah, I'm trying to brag. James McDonald has been the Pireates 2nd Half MVP so far, and this guy called it. McProphesying.