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Five Pirates Make 2026 MLB Top 100 Prospects List

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On Friday, MLB Pipeline released its 2026 Top 100 Prospects list, and it includes five current or future Pittsburgh Pirates. Only two major league teams have more than five players on the list. The Pirates are the only team with three in the top 29. Here’s a rundown of the Pirates’ five players.

MLB Top 100 Prospects for 2026 Includes Five Pirates

No. 96: Hunter Barco

Barco, 25, is a six-foot-four, 235-pound left-handed pitcher who the Pirates drafted in the second round of the 2022 draft out of the University of Florida. The New York Mets had drafted him out of high school in 2019, but Barco kept his commitment to the Gators instead of signing. Barco was with the Pirates briefly last September and pitched three scoreless innings. He has a legitimate chance to go north out of spring training as a member of the starting rotation. To do that, however, he needs to do a better job of controlling his newly developed splitter. There are no issues with his fastball, which sits at 93 mph with movement. But at Triple-A Indianapolis last season, he walked 5.1 batters per nine innings. So, there’s some work to be done there. Nevertheless, it seems a certainty that he’ll be with the Pirates at some point in 2026.

No. 50: Edward Florentino

You don’t know this guy? You will soon enough. Florentino is a left-handed-hitting outfielder/first baseman who stands at six-foot-four, 200 pounds. The 19-year-old was signed out of the Dominican Republic during the 2024 international signing period. In Rookie League ball last year, he hit .347/.442/.642, 6 HR, and 23 RBI. With nothing left to prove there, he moved up to Single-A Bradenton, where he hit .262/.380/.503, 10 HR, and 36 RBI. He also stole 35 bases in 2025. It was initially thought that he’d be limited to a corner position as a professional, but he’s developed into a center fielder as well.

Baseball America is big on Florentino, as you’ll note in the tweet below, although they need to learn his first name. Despite that slight, it’s interesting to note that Baseball America suggests he could be baseball’s No. 1 prospect in 2027. They pour on the accolades: top hitting prospect in the Florida Complex League, top corner outfield prospect in baseball, and highest “hit+” score in the top 100 list. (If I understand it correctly, the hit+ score is an attempt to measure a player’s wOBA against league average wOBA.) Scouts are bullish on Florentino’s exit velocity – uh-oh, there’s that word that Oneil Cruz’s detractors hate – and athleticism. His projected arrival in Pittsburgh is 2028. In the meantime, it will be interesting to follow his progress.

No. 29: Seth Hernandez

Pirates fans anxious for a quick fix were less than pleased when the Pirates drafted a high school pitcher in the first round last year. Nobody’s complaining now. The six-foot-four, 190-pound right-hander pitched for Corona High School in Corona, California, a hotbed of major-league prospects that produced another 2025 first-rounder, shortstop Billy Carlson of the Chicago White Sox. MLB Pipeline had Hernandez as the No. 3 prospect in last year’s draft. Somehow, he fell to the Pirates, who picked sixth. Hernandez has yet to pitch professionally. The 19-year-old features a fastball that touches 98 mph, a changeup that generates swing-and-miss, and two high-spin breaking pitches in his slider and curveball. He projects as a No. 1 starter in the majors. He’s projected to hit the big time in 2028. That strikes me a bit early. It will be quite a jump if he makes it.

No. 11: Bubba Chandler

Chandler, 23, may not be on the Top 100 Prospects list for long, simply because he’s expected to spend all of 2026 with the Pirates. The Pirates drafted the six-foot-three, 218-pound right-handed pitcher in the third round in 2021 out of North Oconee High School in Bogart, Georgia. Drafted as a two-way player, he abandoned that notion after hitting .189 in his first two pro seasons to concentrate on pitching. It was the best career move since Ringo Starr left Rory Storm and the Hurricanes to join the Beatles. The Pirates called Chandler up in August. He looked good in seven games, of which four were starts. He was 4-1 with a 4.02 ERA, 2.66 FIP, and 0.926 WHIP. His ERA was distorted, however, by a rough outing against the Milwaukee Brewers when he was left in too long and surrendered nine runs in 2-2/3 innings.

Chandler has a four-pitch mix, highlighted by a triple-digit four-seamer. It would be an upset if he didn’t emerge from spring training with a starting berth.

No. 1: Konnor Griffin

The Pirates drafted Griffin in the first round out of Jackson Prep in Flowood, Mississippi in 2024. The six-foot-four, 225-pound (yep, they’re makin’ ‘em big these days) right-handed hitter is a five-tool player who plays shortstop and center field. Although only 19, the Pirates are giving him a legitimate shot to be their everyday shortstop. And why not? In his first professional season last year, he leaped from Single-A to High-A to Double-A. Across those three levels, he hit .333/.415/.527, 21 HR, 94 RBI, and an astounding 165 wRC+ while stealing 65 bases. For that, Baseball America named him its Minor League Player of the Year in September. The Pirates usually proceed conservatively when promoting prospects. But Griffin is no ordinary prospect, and 2026 is no ordinary year for the Pirates, who feel an urgency to win. The baseball world will watch Griffin with interest this spring.

The Last Word

I remember listening to a sports talk show on the car radio many years ago, when an elderly woman called in to complain about the state of the Pirates. Somebody forgot to hit the bleep button, and she was heard to say, “I’ve had prospects up my ass!” There are plenty of long-suffering Pirates fans who can relate. But the prospects on this list are legitimate, and a few of them may be at PNC Park as soon as this season.

Mandatory Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports