Weekly Report: Crew Up 2-0 On Rays; Pirates Minor League Awardees; MLB Notes

And onto the grand Fall Classic finale...

Pirates Stuff:

• Pirates Minor League Awards: The top two Bucco farmhands were 3B Murf Gray (.305/32/97) who was the Honus Wagner Player of the Year, and RHP Seth Hernandez (6-1/2.43, 14.4K per nine IP) who was the Bob Friend Pitcher of the Year. 
• Pittsburgh announced its Young Bucs Awards earlier - Gray was their Willie Stargell Slugger of the Year, Derek Diamond (7-0-2/2.48 in 37 outings) was the Kent Tekulve Reliever of the Year; Jesus Castillo (.996 Fielding % playing every spot other than pitcher or catcher) was the Bill Mazeroski Defender of the Year; and Yordany De Los Santos (45 steals) was the Omar Moreno Baserunner of the Year. 

Murf Gray - 2026 image/Baseball America

• Comin' Up: The Bucs started the week when it announced RHP Irwin Ramírez (1-1/3.67, 27 K in 27 IP in the FCL, but not so good at Bradenton) as their 2026 Rookie-Level Pitcher of the Year and IF Johan De Los Santos, Yordany's bro, was their 2026 Rookie-Level Player of the Year. The 18-year-old primo international signee of 2025 tore up the FCL, but like Ramirez, had his eyes opened in A Ball. Cecilio Beltre was selected as the Staff Member of the Year. Cecilio has spent the past 25 years with the organization, with the past nine years as senior advisor & mentor for the Dominican Summer League.

MLB Stuff:

• Brant Brown, a Pirates OF in 1999 (he was gotten from the Cubs for Jon Lieber) has been a hitting coach for several organizations over the past two decades. His latest gig just ended - he was let go after two years as the Cards batting mentor.
• Three skippers down so far: Joe Espada (Houston Astros), Dan Wilson (Seattle Mariners), and Kurt Suzuki (Los Angeles Angels).

World Series Stuff:

• And it's Tampa v Milwaukee, just like we all thought it would be. The winner will be a first-time champion; neither club has ever taken home the title. It's just the second time in 100 years that two teams seeking their first WS crown (Phillies vs. Royals in 1980) met in the Fall Classic per ESPN. The Brew Crew held serve, winning the first two games at American Family Field by 3-2 and 5-4 scores.