Every year is a new opportunity for minor league players to take a step forward in their development. One pivotal thing for many is making their team’s 40-man roster to get protection from the Rule 5 draft. Last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates added multiple players to their 40-man roster before the draft. Esmerlyn Valdez, Wilber Dotel, Antwone Kelly, and Brandan Bidois were no surprises. However, Jack Brannigan, Tyler Samaniego, and Ryan Harbin were slightly more shocking. Either way, the Pirates have plenty of top prospects looking to secure a 40-man roster spot by performing well this season. These five are the most notable.
Five Prominent Pirates Prospects Hoping for Rule 5 Draft Protection
Termarr Johnson
Termarr Johnson is the highest-ranking Pirates prospect who is looking to secure his Rule 5 draft protection. The Pirates’ 2022 first-round pick, Johnson, batted .272/.363/.382 with a .348 wOBA and 118 wRC+ at Double-A Altoona in 2025. The second baseman is known for his ability to draw walks and put up an 11.7% free pass percentage last year. On top of that, he had a career-best 18.5% strikeout rate and 75.1% contact rate. However, he didn’t hit for much power. His .111 isolated slugging percentage was worse than the league average of just .130 in the Eastern League.
While Johnson’s bottom line may not seem impressive for a former first-round pick, it was only his age-21 season. He was the 16th youngest player at Double-A who had at least 400 plate appearances (Johnson stepped to the dish 503 times). Only seven players in total at Double-A had a wRC+ of at least 115 and were 21 years old or younger in 400+ trips to the plate.
Johnson is still one of the Pirates’ best prospects. Both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America rank him as the organization’s seventh-best minor leaguer. With how well he has performed in the minor leagues so far, Johnson may make his MLB debut in 2026, making the need to add him to the 40-man roster in the offseason needless. He certainly has the potential to be a key member of the Pirates.
Khristian Curtis
Khristian Curtis was drafted a year later out of college in 2023. Last season, the right-hander pitched to a 3.90 ERA, 4.09 FIP, and 1.238 WHIP over 110 2/3 innings of work. He struck out just over a quarter of opponents, with a 25.1% K%, and had a respectable 9.7% walk rate. He was not very home-run-prone either, with a 0.97 HR/9 ratio. Most of Curtis’s bad outings happened very early in the year. After his eighth start of the season, Curtis put up a 2.83 ERA, 25.2% K%, and 8.9% BB% over his final 18 starts.
Curtis spent most of his season at Greensboro and made it to Altoona before the end of the year. He only pitched in one game, but it was a great first impression. Curtis tossed two innings, allowing no hits or walks and striking out three. He utilizes five different pitches. His four-seam fastball sits mid-to-upper 90s. His slider, change-up, and cutter all project as above-average offerings by Baseball America. Only his curveball grades out as a 50-grade pitch.
This is from Sunday, Khristian Curtis facing Kevin McGonigle, one of the best hitting prospects in all of baseball.
Works backwards with a CRV to jump in front 0-1 before blowing two fastballs by him at 96 and 97 mph. pic.twitter.com/rkmgPQ0zkx
— Anthony Murphy (@__Murphy88) September 16, 2025
Like Johnson, Curtis could make his MLB debut sometime during 2026. He didn’t spend an entire year at Altoona, like Johnson, but this is going to be his age-24 season. Curtis likely has an inside track to a 40-man roster spot to open the year. If he continues to perform like he did last season, he’ll definitely earn that spot, regardless of whether he plays in the majors or not.
Carlson Reed
Carlson Reed was also a 2023 college draft pick out of West Virginia University. He was selected as a reliever, but the Pirates transitioned him into a starting role in 2024, and he performed phenomenally out of the rotation across two minor league levels. In 108 2/3 total innings, the right-hander put up a 1.99 ERA, 3.28 FIP, and 1.077 WHIP. While his 11.7% walk rate was a tad high, he offset that with an outstanding 29.7% K% and 0.49 HR/9 ratio. Reed opened that year at Single-A Bradenton and got promoted to High-A Greensboro in August. He only made six starts, but had a sub-1.00 ERA (0.87), a 29.8% K%, and 7.9% BB%.
The move from effective college reliever to dominant minor league starter helped boost Reed’s prospect stock significantly. He entered 2025 as the Pirates’ 16th-best prospect. Unfortunately, a back injury sidelined Reed to open the season. He made his way back to the mound on May 20, but did not perform well upon his return. Reed had a 4.08 ERA, but saw his K% drop to 21.2%, and his BB% skyrocket to 17.3%.
Reed is still only 23. If his back is fully healthy, he can get things back on track in 2026. He should get tested at Altoona this year. If Reed can look anything like he did in 2024, he is easily going to earn Rule 5 draft protection.
Axiel Plaz
Axiel Plaz was one of the Pirates’ top international signings in January 2022. The young backstop started the year off batting .262/.348/.450 with a 122 wRC+ over 233 plate appearances at Bradenton. He only struck out 20.2% of the time, with a respectable 9% walk rate. Plaz displayed some serious raw power and had a 92.3 MPH exit velocity and 12.9% barrel rate.
Unfortunately, the rest of the season did not go to plan for Plaz. He missed nearly two months from June 17 until his return to play on August 19. The Pirates moved him to High-A upon his return, where he played 11 games before the end of the season. In those 11 contests, Plaz only had three hits in 42 plate appearances. On the plus side, he only struck out six times, had five walks, and upped his contact rate from 72.8% to 79.2%.
Plaz is the youngest player here. 2026 will only be his age-20 season. Catcher/first base prospects, the two positions Plaz plays, usually aren’t selected in the Rule 5 draft. But very few teenage prospects displayed the sort of raw power Plaz did last year. Plaz may force the Pirates to add him to the 40-man roster if he hits as he did at Bradenton.
Omar Alfonzo
Omar Alfonzo was Rule 5 eligible last year, but got passed up in the draft. He is also a catcher/first base prospect who started the year hot, but cooled off dramatically. Alfonzo batted .261/.389/.440 with a whopping 141 wRC+ at High-A Greensboro. It only took him 284 plate appearances to go yard 11 times. While he had a mediocre 27.8% strikeout percentage, he did have a 74.2% contact rate and 15.5% walk rate.
Closed look at Omar Alfonzo’s double. Lots of power in his bat. pic.twitter.com/EemEZaTAsd
— Anthony Murphy (@__Murphy88) March 14, 2025
That performance earned Alfonzo a promotion to Altoona. However, he hit just .218/.302/.335 with a .300 wOBA, and 86 wRC+ in his final 193 trips to the plate. Alfonzo would only hit three more home runs at Double-A. His already below-average K% rose even more to 30.1%, while his walk rate fell to 9.8%. Alfonzo’s contact rate also fell below 70% to just 69.6%.
Given his struggles, his age, and his position, it’s not completely surprising Alfonzo got passed up in the draft last year. He will be going into his age-22 season, so he still has time to turn things around. However, he was one of the Pirates’ highest-profile prospects left available in the Rule 5 draft in December 2025. A good year from Alfonzo in 2026 may finally earn him the 40-man roster spot, so the Pirates don’t have to risk losing him in the draft a second time.
Main Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images