Pirates Top Prospects and Where They'll Likely Start Season
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates head into the 2026 season with high expectations and some of the best young talent in all of baseball.
The Pirates have the best farm system in all of baseball, according to Baseball America, while ESPN has them at third and The Athletic has them at fourth, which makes for an important 2026 at all levels of the minor leagues.
There are some players that could start in the major leagues as soon as Opening Day and others who will stay at the lower levels, but gain crucial experience.
Let's look at the top five Pirates prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, and see where they will begin 2026.
1. SS Konnor Griffin (MLB-Pirates)
Konnor Griffin is still 19 years old and not even played at Triple-A yet, but is seriously trending towards a spot on Opening Day.
He is coming off an incredible season, where he showed that he was much better than his ninth overall selection in the 2024 MLB Draft and became the best prospect in baseball.
Batting Avg. | On-Base % | Slugging % | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|
.333 | .415 | .527 | .942 |
Hits | Doubles | Home Runs | RBI | BB/K | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
161 | 23 | 21 | 94 | 50/122 | 65 |
Griffin can hit for contact and power, steal bases with ease and make great defensive plays at shortstop. Combining all of that with great athleticism and a stature of 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds and he has earned projections to all-time greats in Mike Trout, Alex Rodriguez and Hall of Famer Willie Mays.
There is trepidation to put someone like Griffin on the Opening Day roster after just 21 games at Double-A, but the Pirates will want him as their starting shortstop of the future at some point.
Pittsburgh would also earn the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) if they have Griffin on Opening Day, and he wins an award, such as the National League Rookie of the Year Award.
The PPI was put into the last Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which encourages MLB teams to promote their top talent earlier and if they meet the guidelines, they can earn their team an extra draft pick.
Griffin has a good shot of making the Opening Day roster, but the Pirates aren't going to rush him if they think he would be better off starting at Triple-A.
I'm predicting he excels in Spring Training and gives the Pirates no choice but to put him on the Opening Day Roster.
2. RHP Bubba Chandler (MLB-Pirates)
Bubba Chandler will certainly be with the Pirates on Opening Day and will feature as a crucial member of a starting rotation with the likes of 2025 NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes, 2023 All-Star Mitch Keller, and fellow star rookie Braxton Ashcraft.
Chandler finally made his MLB debut last season and ended up having a solid end to the year, spending the final month-and-a-half with the Pirates
Stat | Total |
|---|---|
Record (Appearances/Starts) | 4-1 (7/4) |
ERA (Inning Pitched) | 4.02 (31.1) |
Strikeouts/Walks | 31/4 |
BAA/WHIP | .214/0.93 |
He was especially dominant in his final three starts, giving up just six hits, no walks to 19 strikeouts and two earned runs allowed over 16.2 innings.
Chandler has an incredible fastball, that averages around 98.9 mph and can reach higher than 100 mph. He also has two great offspeed pitches in his changeup and slider, which opposing hitters posted a .080 and a .087 slider batting average against, respectively, last season.
It's less of a question of whether Chandler makes the roster and rather, where does he land in the starting rotation.
3. RHP Seth Hernandez (Florida Complex League)
Hernandez was the sixth overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft and is one of the top prospects in baseball, coming in at 29th and the eighth best pitching prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
The 19-year old, who came out of Corona High School in Corona, Calif., will most likely start at Rookie-Level ball with the Florida Complex League (FCL) Pirates, but that should serve as the beginning of his development into the next franchise ace.
Hernandez stands 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, commanding an imposing presence on the mound. He also throws four pitches, a fastball, a curveball and a changeup, his three best pitches, while also throwing a slider.
MLB Pipeline has scouting grades for Hernandez at 70 for his fastball, 60 for his curveball, 55 for his Slider, 60 for his changeup, 55 for his control and 55 overall.
His fastball is his best pitch, reaching around 100 mph, but the break he gets on his curveball is impressive and he has good control over his changeup.
Hernandez dominated in his senior season in 2025, striking out 105 batters over 53.2 innings pitched, averaging almost two strikeouts per inning, while also posting a 0.39 ERA. He earned 2025 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year honors at the high school level for his performance.
Pirates should be excited to see what Hernandez can do this season, but he's far away from pitching at the major league level.
4. OF Edward Florentino (High-A Greensboro)
Edward Florentino only just finished his first season in the United States after signing with the Pirates in the 2024 International Signing Period, but was the biggest riser in prospect rankings in the franchise.
MLB Pipeline has him at 51st, but Baseball America has him at 28th overall and their best corner outfielder, a big step for someone who wasn't anywhere near top 100 lists at the start of the 2025 season.
Florentino excelled with both the FCL Pirates and then at Single-A Bradenton in 2025 at just 18 years old, doing almost everthing really well.
Batting Average | On-Base % | Slugging % | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|
.290 | .400 | .548 | .948 |
Hits | Doubles | HR | RBI | BB/K | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
84 | 23 | 16 | 59 | 49/78 | 35 |
He has also kept his strikeout rate down and is a solid fielder too, meaning he can provide the Pirates with great defense in the outfield
His start to the season saw him slash .347/.442/.642 for an OPS of 1.084 in 29 games with the FCL Piratess, 33 hit in 95 at-bats, six doubles, two triples, six home runs, 23 RBI, 16 walks to 22 strikeouts and six stolen bases on seven attempts.
Florentino continued that great play with Bradenton, slashing .262/.380/.503 for an OPS of .883, with 51 hits in 195 at-bats, 17 doubles, 10 home runs, 36 RBIs, 29 stolen bases on 34 attempts and 33 walks to 56 strikeouts.
He earned Florida State League Player of the Month honors for July as he slashed .301/.433/.663 for an OPS of 1.096 in 23 games, with 25 hits in 83 at-bats, six doubles, eight home runs, 23 RBI, 17 walks to 24 strikeouts and 16 stolen bases on 17 attempts.
Florentino likely could start again at Bradenton, but he would do incredibly well at High-A Greensboro, with a favorable ball park for power hitters like him.
5. LHP Hunter Barco (MLB-Pirates)
Barco is still a top prospect in the Pirates organization, with MLB Pipeline ranking him fifth and 96th overall in their latest re-ranking.
He finally made it to the major leagues at the end of 2025, throwing three scoreless innings for the Pirates over two bullpen outings.
It was a difficult road for Barco to make the major leagues, after the Pirates took him in the second round out of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Florida, as he had Tommy John surgery prior, which kept him from making his professional debut until late 2023.
Barco did breakout in 2025, as he set a franchise record with the longest scoreless inning streak to start a season at 25.2 innings pitched at Double-A Altoona. He also earned Eastern League Pitcher of the Month Award in April.
He has a simple pitch mix, using his sinker as his main pitch, but he also incorporates a slider that sits in the low 80-mph range and works well both inside and outside the zone. He uses his splitter similarly, which also generates movement and is another strikeout pitch.
Barco will push for a role in the starting rotation, but the Pirates need southpaws in the bullpen as well, and it's likely he ends up there to start the season, following of course, a solid showing in Spring Training.
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.