Pirates Have New Leader for 2027 MLB Draft
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates take every MLB Draft seriously, as it is a big way they build their team and get their best players.
The Pirates have named their new director of amateur scouting Justin Newman, according to Joe Doyle of Over-Slot, who takes over as the leader for the 2027 MLB Draft.
Newman has spent almost a decade with the Pirates and takes over the role that Justin Horowtiz had for the 2024 and 2025 MLB Drafts.
It's a big promotion for Newman, and the Pirates will need him to lead the franchise into the future.
Why This Promotion is So Big for Newman
The Pirates didn't have a director of amateur scouting, and assistant general manager Kevan Graves led the 2026 MLB Draft scouting process and worked with his team to pick the future talent.
Horowitz specifically held the role for the previous two drafts, but departed to become an assistant general manager for the Washington Nationals after the 2025 season.
Newman now takes over the role and will lead the Pirates in their draft process, which they've had success with in the past few seasons.
The Pirates took starting pitcher Paul Skenes first overall in 2023, shortstop Konnor Griffin ninth overall in 2024 and top pitching prospect Seth Hernandez sixth overall in 2025.
Doyle reported that the Pirates set out eight interview requests for external candidates, but settled on Newman for the position.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said at his year-end press conference that they would fill the role of director of amateur scouting in the near future and that Graves would lead the hiring process.
What Newman Brings to the Pirates
Newman has been with the Pirates since January 2017, when he spent 10 months as a baseball informatics intern through October.
He spent the next seven years working as analyst with the amateur draft, two years as quantitative analyst, November 2017 to December 2019, three years as senior quantitative analyst, December 2019 to December 2022, then two years as lead quantitative analyst, December 2022 to November 2024.
Newman has had three different roles over the past three years: manager of research and development, January to November 2024, head of player analysis, November 2024 to October 2025, and most recently as director of player analysis since November 2025.
Doyle reported that Newman played a big role in building/creating the Pirates' draft model and, in turn, establishing the draft boards the Pirates use when making selections.
The Pirates know how important the draft is, and Newman will now get a chance to expand on the role he's had for almost a decade and build this franchise into a consistent winner.
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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.