Brandon Lowe spent the 2026 season doing exactly what the Pirates hoped he would do: bring real left-handed power to the middle of the lineup and change the shape of their offense. Now he’s in the running for one of the game’s top hitting honors.
Lowe was named a finalist for the National League Silver Slugger Award, which goes to the best hitters in baseball. He and Milwaukee’s Brice Turang are the two finalists at second base, and both put together strong cases for the prize.
Turang, a World Series winner with the Brewers, had the edge in several traditional categories. He finished with a better batting average and on-base percentage, and he also piled up more runs, hits, doubles, triples, RBI and walks than Lowe.
But Lowe brought the thunder. He finished with the better slugging percentage and OPS, and he led the pair in home runs and total bases. That power gap is hard to ignore.
Lowe hit 35 home runs, which was 14 more than Turang and eight more than the next player in MLB, Kody Clemens of the Minnesota Twins. Even with Turang ahead in a handful of categories, Lowe stayed close enough in many of them to keep the race tight. He finished just eight runs behind, eight doubles behind, four hits behind and two triples behind.
The biggest separation came in walks, where Turang had a 28-walk advantage. That helped explain the edge in OBP. Still, Lowe’s power profile is what made him stand out all season, and it’s the kind of impact the Pirates were chasing when they went looking for a left-handed bat that could handle PNC Park.
That search led them to Lowe in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays last offseason that also brought in left-handed reliever Mason Montgomery and Jake Mangum. It’s already being viewed as the best transaction made under general manager Ben Cherington’s tenure.
Lowe’s 35 homers were the most by a Pirate since Josh Bell hit 37 in 2019, and they were the most by any Pirate in his first season with the club since Brian Giles hit 39 in 1998. He also hit 20 home runs at home, breaking the PNC Park record Giles set in the ballpark’s first season in 2001 with 18.
That power helped the Pirates set the team record for most home runs at home and in a season overall. Lowe had several big moments along the way, including a walk-off solo shot off the right-field foul pole in the 4-3 comeback win over the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 19 at PNC Park. He also delivered the walk-off single in a 3-2 extra-inning win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 27 and the go-ahead two-run homer in a 6-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sept. 19, both at PNC Park.
Lowe is a free agent this offseason, and the Pirates have already extended him the qualifying offer as they try to bring him back. But with the season he just put together, they won’t be the only team interested in him.
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