One Pirates Prospect to Watch in 2026
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have a great group of players in their farm system that could play a significant role on the team next season.
The Pirates already brought many players up last season, especially on the pitching side, featuring Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows, Bubba Chandler and Hunter Barco, who all impressed during their MLB stays.
Ashcraft, Chandler and Barco should feature heavily for the Pirates in 2026, while the top prospect in baseball, Konnor Griffin, could serve as the starting shortstop for Opening Day.
There is one prospect that the Pirates just added this month that will get an opportunity this season in the major leagues as well.
Jhostynxon García a Pirates Prospect to Watch
The Pirates added outfield prospect Jhostynxon García in a five-player trade with the Boston Red Sox, which included them sending right-handed starting pitcher Johan Oviedo back on Dec. 4.
García is the sixth best prospect in the Pirates system and 85th in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.
MLB.com looked at each of the 30 franchises and what prospect they have that could make their mark in 2026.
Pirates beat writer Alex Stumpf chose García and likes that he has power and can play all outfield spots, which is a need for the team heading into next season.
"García impact the Major League team in 2026 and can play all three outfield positions, but he isn’t guaranteed a spot on the big league squad," Stumpf wrote. "He has the potential to be a plus fielder and a power bat, but there’s some development that still needs to be done."
What the Pirates Get in Jhostynxon García
Jhostynxon García, whose first name is pronounced "JOES-tin-son", also holds the nickname, "The Password", due to the interesting nature of how his first name is spelt.
He possesses great power and is coming off of 23 home runs in 2024 and 21 home runs this past season.
García slashed .267/.340/.470 for an OPS of .810 in 114 games across Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester, but his best play came in the 88 games at Triple-A in 2025.
Stat | Total |
|---|---|
Batting Average | .271 |
On-Base Percentage | .334 |
Slugging Percentage | .498 |
OPS | .832 |
Hits | 86 |
Runs Scored | 60 |
Doubles | 12 |
Triples | 3 |
Home Runs | 18 |
RBI | 58 |
Walks/Strikeouts | 27/102 |
García has a beautiful swing, that sees him open up his body and crush balls in the zone, punishing pitchers for leaving balls for him to send out for a home run.
He does tend to pull the ball for a right-handed batter, but this works well in PNC Park, which is deeper in right-center field than it is closer to the foul pole.
García also can play all three outfield positions, but features mostly in center field, then at right field and a little bit in left field. This gives the Pirates options on where to put him, but also could serve as a backup for Oneil Cruz, putting him at designated hitter at times too.
While there are great things about his game, García does have a high strikeout rate, 24.0% in 2024 and increasing to 30.1% this past season.
This comes from him going for power, which obviously comes with its risks, strikeouts, and also rewards, home runs.
He also struggles with offspeed pitches, with a whiff rate of 43.75% on the changeup and 43.69% on the slider, but does do better with higher velocity pitches, like the fastball and sinker.
García is solid against both right-handed pitching and left-handed pitching. He slashed .268/.339/.461 for an OPS of .800 against righties and .246/.348/.509 for an OPS of .857 against lefties.
Where He Projects for the Pirates in 2026
The Pirates are giving García a shot to make the team out of Spring Training, but won't rush him and will allow him to develop at Triple-A Indianapolis if needed, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
García did make his MLB debut with the Red Sox last season, but only played in five games and went 1-for-7 from the plate.
The recently turned 23-year old is coming off a strong season in Triple-A, that saw him make the Futures Game.
Pittsburgh could use a left fielder next season and also acquired Jake Mangum in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Dec. 19.
García and Mangum likely fit into the plans at left field for the Pirates next season, so there's a chance he'll get some playing time, depending on his performances in Spring Training and then likely at Triple-A Indianapolis.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.