It's been just over 24 hours since the Pirates season has come to an end, and things are already off to a positive start.
On Monday afternoon, Major League Baseball named Ke'Bryan Hayes the National League Rookie of the Month for September.
Hayes, who made his major league debut on Sept. 1, finished the month and the season slashing .376/.442/.682 with 7 doubles, two triples, 5 home runs and 11 RBIs.
Among batters with at least 75 plate appearances, Hayes' 1.124 OPS was the fourth best in baseball in September.
During the final three games of the season, he had a stretch of eight straight at-bats that resulted in a hit. The last Pirate to accomplish that was Andy Van Slyke in 1994.
Despite only appearing in 24 games this season, Hayes finished with more hits (32) than Jacob Stallings (31), who was voted as the club's most valuable player by the local chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Hayes ended the season on an eight-game hitting streak, and wound up with 1.8 WAR, according to Baseball-Reference.
In addition to his impressive work at the plate, Hayes also shined in the field, providing a both noticeable and needed upgrade to the Pirates' infield defense.
Without a clear front runner for National League rookie of the year, there can be a case made for Hayes, even though he didn't make his debut until over halfway through the season. Derek Shelton say a similar situation happen in 2013 when he was with the Rays and Wil Myers won.
"I don't see why his name shouldn't be thrown in the mix," Shelton said Sunday, after listing off Hayes' accomplishments this season.
Hayes is the first Pirates rookie to receive the award since Austin Meadows in May 2018, and the first third baseman since Pedro Alvarez in Sept. 2010.