Who Will The Pittsburgh Pirates Take? MLB Draft 2026 Deep Dive
Who Will The Pittsburgh Pirates Take? MLB Draft 2026 Deep Dive
A deep dive into who the Pittsburgh Pirates could select with the No. 5 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft and how it fits their long-term plan.
Another year, another year of trying to figure out which direction the Pittsburgh Pirates are headed as they prepare to draft No. 5 overall in the 2026 MLB Draft in July.
Pittsburgh’s big league club has a new manager and was in pursuit of some moves this offseason as the Pirates appear serious about taking advantage of the Paul Skenes pre-arbitration era. They signed free agent Ryan O’Hearn, who hit .281 with 17 home runs in 2025 for Baltimore and San Diego. They took flyers on relievers like Chris Devenski and Noah Davis, and they traded for Brandon Lowe and Mason Montgomery in December.
A day before pitchers and catchers reported, they signed veteran Dh Marcel Ozuna.
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Is it enough to win the National League Central with established players like Skenes, Mitch Keller, Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz? Is it enough to win a wild card spot?
The Pirates are in a familiar spot. The farm system is among the best in baseball, ranked No. 4 by Keith Law at The Athletic, and sport's the consensus No. 1 prospect, Konnor Griffin. The 19-year-old shortstop is being talked about as a generational talent. He was the No. 9 pick in the draft back in 2024, and the 6-foot-4, 225-pound star was invited to Spring Training by the Pirates.
With Griffin and Skenes, the Pirates have had two consensus top prospects in the sport come through the system. Skenes won the Cy Young Award in 2025 despite carrying a 10-10 record. Don’t worry, when you also have a 1.97 ERA and 216 strikeouts in a season, the 10 losses were clearly not on him.
And thus describe the life of the Pittsburgh Pirates along with this:
- 2025: 71-91
- 2024: 76-86
- 2023: 76-86
- 2022: 62-100
- 2021: 61-101
Pittsburgh fans probably don’t want to hear about Griffin unless his Spring Training leads to a promotion this season — and he’s in Double-A, so it’s not out of the question. But yes, there is excitement that ownership made some moves this offseason, even offering Kyle Schwarber a contract.
But the question is this: With Paul Skenes arbitration-eligible in November 2027, are the Pirates going to rebuild the rebuild knowing that Skenes may command the largest arbitration contract in MLB history? Are they going to trade Skenes and shift the focus to Griffin as the face of the franchise?
And that’s where the No. 5 pick of the 2026 MLB Draft comes in. Here’s a deep dive into who the Pirates could take in July.
What The Pittsburgh Pirates Roster Has Now
They have a lot of pieces that they could sell for more prospects if they wanted. They also have a lot of prospects they could trade to improve the big league roster.
The Pirates’ everyday core is Oneil Cruz, the shortstop-turned-center fielder who hit 20 home runs and stole 38 bases while batting .200 in 2025, and Bryan Reynolds, the corner outfielder who hit 16 home runs and batted .245. Cruz, 27, was once one of the biggest and brightest prospects in baseball but has lost some of the shine in recent years. Reynolds, 31, signed a big extension to stay with the Pirates but has five more seasons on that deal and is coming off a down season.
There’s a reason the Pirates had the best pitcher in baseball but finished last in the division.
Skenes is sensational, and he’ll anchor a rotation that is by far the best part of the organization right now. Keller is a former All-Star, and Bubba Chandler debuted last year but enters this season as the No. 11-ranked prospect in baseball.
Skenes enters just his third season, but since he won National League Rookie of the Year, he was rewarded, under the new collective bargaining agreement, by shedding a year of club control.
Reliever Hunter Barco is the No. 96-ranked prospect in baseball and is on the 40-man roster this year after pitching in two games for the Pirates in 2025.
Another former No. 1 pick, Henry Davis, has yet to find his footing. And Joey Bart is yet another former big-time prospect on the 40-man roster.
The Pirates have pieces to compete with the Brewers, Cubs, Reds and Cardinals in the Central, but a bad start to the season could make this team the biggest trade turnstile in recent years. Cruz is arbitration-eligible after the season but doesn’t hit free agency until 2029. The Pirates would probably love a Reynolds trade like they loved the Ke’Bryan Hayes trade last year. O’Hearn was a big signing, but on a two-year, $29 million deal, he could become a valuable trade chip. Lowe was traded once and can be traded again.
Ozuna is on a 1-year deal will certainly be traded if the Pirates are out of playoff the race in July.
And of course, if the Pirates decide to do it — and there must be some smoke there given how much Pittsburgh had to plea to the media that they weren’t trading him — there’s Skenes. A Paul Skenes trade would, could and should yield the biggest return in trade history if it happens this year, even if he could get more than $32 million in a arbitration hearing.
But that deal will be there, barring an injury, for a while.
What The Pittsburgh Pirates Farm System Looks Like
The Pirates are No. 4 at The Athletic. They are third at ESPN, and MLB executives, according to MLB.com, picked the Pirates fifth.
It seems safe to say the Pirates are a consensus top five farm system. They’ll drop a little when Chandler graduates. With Griffin at No. 1 — and I’m sure the Pirates will do everything they can to ensure he won't win Rookie of the Year in 2026 (or 2027 for that matter — he’s still just 19) — the farm system won’t drop that much this season. And the No. 5 pick in the draft will only strengthen the system.
One reason why the Pirates could eye a Skenes trade is the strength of the pitching in the system. Seth Hernandez was the No. 6 pick in the 2025 draft and was one of the best high school pitchers taken last year. He’s 19 and far from the big leagues, but he is the No. 29-ranked prospect in baseball.
Who Will The Pittsburgh Pirates Take In The 2026 MLB Draft?
The first MLB mock draft at FloBaseball has the Pirates taking high school prospect Jacob Lombard. His brother was taken by the New York Yankees in 2023, and Jacob is one of the best shortstops in the draft. Now, that doesn’t mean he’ll be a shortstop by the time he debuts in the big leagues.
His strength right now is his athleticism, and his dad is the bench coach for the Detroit Tigers, so fundamentals are a big strength as well. He’s considered a consensus top-10 pick.
The Pirates aren’t afraid to take high school players in the first round. Since taking LSU phenom Skenes, they’ve selected back-to-back high school players.
The Pirates wouldn’t just pass on him because they have Konnor Griffin. Lombard is the No. 4-ranked prospect on the FloBaseball composite rankings. The real question with the No. 5 pick is whether the Pirates are trying to build for the Paul Skenes era or the prospective Konnor Griffin era.
If the answer is Skenes, then the Pirates may want to add a high-profile player who could debut as early as midseason 2027 or in 2028, and that means looking at a college prospect. LSU outfielder Derek Curiel, the No. 5 prospect in the draft, would be tough to pass up for a Pirates organization that could use an outfield bat.
Curiel dominated in 2024 as a freshman and is a “pure hitter,” according to scouts. He’s going to play center field for LSU this season.
2026 Shriners Children’s Baseball Showdown
Feb. 13, 2026
- 12:00 PM ET: Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech
- 4:00 PM ET: TCU vs. Vanderbilt
- 8:00 PM ET: Oklahoma St vs. Arkansas
Feb. 14, 2026
- 12:00 PM ET: Texas Tech vs. Vanderbilt
- 4:00 PM ET: Oklahoma St vs. Oklahoma
- 8:00 PM ET: Arkansas vs. TCU
Feb. 15, 2026
- 11:30 AM ET: Vanderbilt vs. Oklahoma St
- 3:30 PM ET: Texas Tech vs. Arkansas
- 7:30 PM ET: TCU vs. Oklahoma
College Baseball Series In Surprise, Arizona
Feb. 13, 2026
- 4:00 PM ET: Michigan vs. Oregon St
- 8:00 PM ET: Stanford vs. Arizona
Feb. 14, 2026
- 4:00 PM ET: Arizona vs. Oregon St
- 8:00 PM ET: Michigan vs. Stanford
Feb. 15, 2026
- 2:00 PM ET: Stanford vs. Oregon St
- 6:00 PM ET: Arizona vs. Michigan
Feb. 16, 2026
- 2:00 PM ET: Michigan vs. Oregon St
Amegy Bank College Baseball Series Weekend 2
Feb. 20, 2026
- 12:00 PM ET: Michigan vs. Florida St
- 4:00 PM ET: Nebraska vs. Louisville
- 8:00 PM ET: Auburn vs. Kansas St
Feb. 21, 2026
- 12:00 PM ET: Louisville vs. Michigan
- 4:00 PM ET: Florida St vs. Auburn
- 8:00 PM ET: Kansas St vs. Nebraska
Feb. 22, 2026
- 11:30 AM ET: Auburn vs. Louisville
- 3:30 PM ET: Nebraska vs. Florida St
- 7:30 PM ET: Michigan vs. Kansas St
Amegy Bank College Baseball Series Weekend 3
Feb. 27, 2026
- 12:00 PM ET: Arizona St vs. Mississippi St
- 4:00 PM ET: UCLA vs. Tennessee
- 8:00 PM ET: Virginia Tech vs. Texas A&M
Feb. 28, 2026
- 12:00 PM ET: Tennessee vs. Arizona St
- 4:00 PM ET: Mississippi St vs. Virginia Tech
- 8:00 PM ET: Texas A&M vs. UCLA
Mar. 1, 2026
- 11:30 AM ET: Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee
- 3:30 PM ET: UCLA vs. Mississippi St
- 7:30 PM ET: Arizona St vs. Texas A&M
When Is The 2026 MLB Draft?
The MLB Draft begins the Sunday of MLB All-Star Week, which is being held in Philadelphia from July 11-July 14.
2026 MLB Draft Order
- Chicago White Sox
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Minnesota Twins
- San Francisco Giants
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Kansas City Royals
- Baltimore Orioles
- Oakland Athletics
- Atlanta Braves
- Colorado Rockies
- Washington Nationals
- Los Angeles Angels
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Miami Marlins
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Texas Rangers
- Houston Astros
- Cincinnati Reds
- Cleveland Guardians
- Boston Red Sox
- San Diego Padres
- Detroit Tigers
- Chicago Cubs
- Seattle Mariners
- Milwaukee Brewers
The 2026 MLB Draft Top 100 Prospects
Rank Name Position Age School Commitment
1 Roch Cholowsky SS 20 UCLA --
2 Grady Emerson SS 17 Fort Worth Christian Texas
3 Justin Lebron SS 21 Alabama --
4 Jacob Lombard SS 18 Gulliver Prep Miami
5 Derek Curiel OF 20 LSU --
6 Tyler Spangler SS 18 De La Salle Stanford
7 Liam Peterson RHP 20 Florida --
8 Sawyer Strosnider OF 20 TCU --
9 Cameron Flukey RHP 20 Coastal Carolina --
10 Drew Burress OF 21 Georgia Tech --
11 AJ Gracia OF 21 Virginia --
12 Carson Bolemon LHP 18 Southside Christian Wake Forest
13 Gio Rojas LHP 18 Stoneman Douglas Miami
14 Ace Reese 3B 20 Mississippi State --
15 Jackson Flora RHP 20 UC Santa Barbara --
16 Chris Hacopian SS 21 Texas A&M --
17 Eric Becker SS 20 Virginia --
18 Tyler Bell SS 20 Kentucky --
19 Vahn Lackey C 20 Georgia Tech --
20 Logan Schmidt LHP 17 Ganesha LSU
21 Coleman Borthwick RHP 17 South Walton Auburn
22 Caden Sorrell OF 20 Texas A&M --
23 Blake Bowen OF 17 JSerra Oregon State
24 Chris Rembert 2B 20 Auburn --
25 Jensen Hirschkorn RHP 17 Kingsburg LSU
26 Gavin Grahovac 3B 20 Texas A&M --
27 Brady Harris OF 17 Trinity Christian Florida
28 Trevor Condon OF 17 Etowah Tennessee
29 Aiden Ruiz SS 18 The Stony Brook Vanderbilt
30 Gabe Gaeckle RHP 21 Arkansas --
31 Eric Booth OF 17 Oak Gove Vanderbilt
32 Kaden Waechter RHP 18 Jesuit Florida State
33 Caden Bogenpohl OF 20 Missouri State --
34 Will Brick C 17 Christian Brothers Mississippi State
35 Joseph Contreras RHP 17 Blessed Trinity Vanderbilt
36 Tegan Kuhns RHP 20 Tennessee --
37 Zion Rose OF 20 Louisville --
38 Savion Sims RHP 18 Prestonwood Christian Oklahoma
39 Maddox Molony SS 21 Oregon --
40 Joey Volchko RHP 20 Georgia --
41 Jarren Advincula 2B 20 Georgia Tech --
42 Cole Carlon LHP 20 Arizona State --
43 Chase Brunson OF 20 TCU --
44 Rocco Maniscalco SS 16 Oxford Mississippi State
45 Ryder Helfrick C 20 Arkansas --
46 Tommy LaPour RHP 20 TCU --
47 Ryan Lynch RHP 20 North Carolina --
48 Cole Koeninger SS/RHP 18 Keller Tennessee
49 Beau Peterson 3B 18 Mill Valley Texas
50 Landon Thome 2B/3B 18 Nazareth Academy Florida State
51 Lucas Moore OF 20 Louisville --
52 Daniel Cuvet 3B 20 Miami --
53 Denton Lord RHP 18 South Walton --
54 Kevin Roberts OF 17 Jackson Prep Florida
55 James Clark SS 18 St. John Bosco Princeton
56 Connor Comeau SS/3B 17 Anderson Texas A&M
57 Andrew Costello C 18 Cathedral Prep Wake Forest
58 Trey Rangel RHP 18 The Colony Texas
59 Jake McCoy LHP 20 South Carolina --
60 Keon Johnson SS 17 First Presbyterian --
61 Eli Herst RHP 17 Seattle Academy Vanderbilt
62 Henry Ford OF 21 Tennessee --
63 Blake Bryant RHP 18 Citizen Christian Clemson
64 Jason DeCaro RHP 19 North Carolina --
65 Gavin Gallaher 3B 21 North Carolina --
66 Archer Horn SS 17 St. Ignatius Stanford
67 Trey Beard LHP 21 Florida Atlantic --
68 Cooper Sides RHP 18 Orange Lutheran LSU
69 Sean Duncan LHP 17 Terry Fox (Canada) Vanderbilt
70 Hunter Dietz LHP 20 Arkansas --
71 Ethan Bass SS 18 Glenbrook North Wake Forest
72 Noah Wilson OF 18 McCallie Vanderbilt
73 Carson Tinney C 20 Texas --
74 Shane Sdao LHP 22 Texas A&M --
75 Aidan Knaak RHP 21 Clemson --
76 Owen Kramkowski RHP 20 Arizona --
77 Kade Lewis 1B 20 Wake Forest --
78 Gary Morse RHP 18 Orange Lutheran Tennessee
79 Tre Broussard OF 20 Houston --
80 Jorvorskie Lane OF 17 Grapevine Arkansas
81 Matt Ponatoski SS 17 Moeller Kentucky
82 Jake Brown OF 20 LSU --
83 Malachi Washington OF 17 Parkview LSU
84 Logan Hughes OF 20 Texas Tech --
85 Steven Milam SS/2B 21 LSU --
86 Brady Ballinger 1B 20 Kansas --
87 Blake Morningstar RHP 20 Wake Forest --
88 Ethan Kleinschmit LHP 20 Oregon State --
89 Brett Renfrow RHP 20 Virginia Tech --
90 Will Yow SS 18 St. Anne's-Belfield Virginia
91 Ricky Ojeda LHP 20 UC Irvine --
92 Dominic Santarelli 1B 18 St. Joseph --
93 Andrew Williamson OF 20 Central Florida --
94 Wilson Andersen RHP 17 Jesuit Mississippi State
95 Jason Amalbert SS 18 DePaul Oklahoma
96 Ethan Norby LHP 20 East Carolina --
97 Cade Townsend RHP 20 Mississippi --
98 Alex Hernandez 2B/OF 20 Georgia Tech --
99 Wes Mendes LHP 21 Florida State --
100 Cole Prosek 3B 18 Magnolia Heights Mississippi
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