Team Outlook

The Pirates have been something of an arms factory as of late with players like Paul Skenes, Bubba Chandler, and Jared Jones, among others. They have yet another pitcher looking ready to join that list in Seth Hernandez. Beyond him at the top, Pittburgh has started to fill the top end of their farm system with more bats, which can provide a compliment to what they’ve had lately. That includes recent first round pick Derek Curiel. Some of these bats are farther away, however. Overall this does look to be a group that is getting stronger as time goes on.

About Our Top 30 Lists

Prospects Live, led by its evaluating team & Director of Scouting Trevor Hooth, is proud to begin updating and expanding system reports. The team combines industry feedback, our live looks, film, and available data to compile each org. We believe this effort has enabled us to present you, the reader, with our best possible view of the prospects in the organization.

We have constructed this list using the Overall Future Potential (OFP) scale. There is no perfect equation for ranking prospects or assigning value to them, but we believe this method is the best possible approach. Every prospect on this list has been graded based on the tried and true 20-80 scouting scale. An 80 is the highest tool and OFP grade on the scale, reserved for MVP-caliber players or tools. Conversely, a 20 is reserved for non-prospects (NPs). A 50 OFP falls in the middle, indicating our evaluators deem this player a future average major league player. Below the 50 OFP tier are the 45s and 40s, comprising a large majority of players on each list. These are specific-role players, such as platoon hitters, utility players, or low-leverage relievers. Above the 50 OFP tier are the 55s and 60s. A 55 represents a future above-average player, and a 60 OFP designation is reserved for future All-Star caliber players.

In addition to the tool grades and OFP, we will also include a ‘Risk’ associated with each prospect. We use this to better communicate to you, the reader, whether a grade is more aggressive or conservative in nature. The evaluation team has worked hard to apply both the grades and risk components to better illustrate how each individual prospect stacks up in their respective system and in the baseball ecosystem.

These lists include the most recent draft picks. The picks may not sign with the team, and that will be acknowledged, but for the time being we will include the picks. Should it come out that they are not signing with the organization, we will update the lists to reflect that. The PLive draft team worked hard to get writeups with grades for draft prospects, but because of the difference in level and team, the grades may not reflect their placement.

Evaluators: Brandon Tew, Rhys White, Trevor Hooth, Drew Wheeler, Jacob Maxwell, Nate Jones, JB Sebastiano, Grant Carver, Brandon Tew, Josh Catlett, Mitch Stachnik, Jake Bargery, Tyler Paddor, Matt Seese

Find all the previous Top 20 Lists, as well as the updated lists Top 30 as they release here:

2026 Team Prospect Lists – Prospects Live

Top 30 Prospects at a Glance

1. Seth Hernandez, RHP – 60 OFP
2. Edward Florentino, OF – 50 OFP
3. Derek Curiel, OF – 50 OFP**
4. Murf Gray, 3B – 50 OFP
5. Wyatt Sanford, SS – 50 OFP
6. Aiden Ruiz, SS – 50 OFP**
7. Jhostynxon Garcia, OF – 45 OFP
8. Khristian Curtis, RHP – 45 OFP
9. Easton Carmichael, C – 45 OFP
10. Hunter Barco, LHP – 50 OFP
11. Rafael Flores, C – 45 OFP
12. Andruw Giles, OF – 40 OFP**
13. Johan De Los Santos, OF – 45 OFP
14. Darell Morel, 3B – 45 OFP
15. Chris Rembert, 2B – 45 OFP**
16. Wilber Dotel, RHP – 45 OFP
17. Reinold Navarro, P – 45 OFP
18. Jason DeCaro, RHP – 45 OFP**
19. Sammy Stafura, SS – 45 OFP
20. Wilton Guerrero Jr. , SS – 45 OFP
21. Antwone Kelly, RHP – 45 OFP
22. Termarr Johnson, 2B – 45 OFP
23. Ryan Marohn, LHP – 45 OFP**
24. Levi Sterling, RHP – 45 OFP
25. Jesus Travieso, RHP – 45 OFP
26. Connor Wietgrefe, LHP – 40 OFP
27. Jack Brannigan, SS – 40 OFP
28. Tre Phelps, 3B – 45 OFP**
29. Hyun Seung Lee, SS – 40 OFP
30. Duce Gourson, 2B – 40 OFP

**= Not officially signed

Scouting Reports

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Seth Hernandez, RHP – 60 OFP

HT: 6-4 WT: 190 H/T: R/R
Highest Level: A+
ETA: 2029

OFP: 60

Risk: High

Fastball: 60 – (94-98 T101 mph)
Curveball: 60 – (77-79 mph)
Slider: 60 – (82-86 mph)
Changeup: 70 – (81-84 mph)
Command: 55

Scouting Report

Seth Hernandez was the highest profile player in the 2025 draft class. He is the best prep arm in a few years with a surprising amount of polish and present stuff. Seth Hernandez is an impressive athlete on the mound, as he shows an advanced feel for repeating his delivery and shows great balance. It is a very slow delivery, and when his hands come together there is a swooping motion as he recoils and releases the ball. The ability for him to get to a consistent release point at such a young age is impressive, and portends to possibly plus command at the end of the day. Hernandez’s fastball on just pure velocity is top-of-the-scale velocity. He has been seen in the Dominican this offseason getting the fastball up to 101, but whether that will happen in a game is another question. But the issue with the fastball is the shape; it’s a straight fastball without a lot of movement, or “dead-zoney.” He has gotten by on pure velocity and the strength of his other stuff. One of the challenges the Pirates are going to have is experimenting with the shape of the fastball; maybe he throws a sinker. There is a lot up in the air with Hernandez’s fastball. There isn’t anything up in the air with the secondary stuff. Hernandez’s changeup is immediately one of the best in pro ball. He gets good velocity separation off the fastball, the two pitches tunnel well off one another, and it gets ample fading action. He is not afraid to mix it in to right-handed batters, which tells you what he thinks about it. The slider and curveball are both really good offerings. He can collect whiffs from both handedness of batter with any of his offerings, and slightly bucks the trend of becoming platoon neutral, at least for now. The upside with Hernandez is immense, as is the risk, but that comes with being a prep pitcher. If the fastball shape takes a step forward, we could be talking about the best pitching prospect in baseball in short order. – Rhys White

Edward Florentino, OF – 50 OFP

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