{"id":124396,"date":"2026-02-26T20:03:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T20:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/124396\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T20:03:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T20:03:10","slug":"keith-law-predicts-star-prospects-to-give-pirates-major-boost-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/124396\/","title":{"rendered":"Keith Law Predicts Star Prospects To Give Pirates Major Boost In 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

After years of rebuilding, the future is finally here<\/a> for the Pittsburgh Pirates. <\/p>\n

Paul Skenes is coming off his first career NL Cy Young award and is only 23. He\u2019s the ace of a pitching staff that had the seventh-best ERA in baseball last year.<\/p>\n

The Pirates also got him some help, acquiring three All-Star hitters over the winter to beef up their lineup and give their hurlers more run support.<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh has several young stars ready to break out as well. Their best position player prospect and best pitching prospect, Konnor Griffin and Bubba Chandler, appear poised to give the Pirates a major boost this year.<\/p>\n

MLB prospect analyst Keith Law is high on both of them heading into the 2026 campaign. In his rookie rankings<\/a> for The Athletic, he put Griffin at No. 4 and Chandler at No. 10.<\/p>\n

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\u201c(Griffin) kept improving over the course of 2025, though, with his best hitting coming after that late promotion to Double A, and he\u2019s more than shown he can play plus defense at shortstop,\u201d wrote Law, who recently compared Griffin to Willie Mays<\/a>. \u201cIt would be extremely unusual for him to make the leap to the majors and produce at his age\/experience level, but I think he\u2019s an extremely unusual talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear if Griffin will make Pittsburgh\u2019s Opening Day roster, but he\u2019ll likely be up at some point this season. He\u2019s currently the betting favorite for NL Rookie of the Year<\/a>, so this ranking could be too low.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Chandler has the sixth-best odds. He pitched well during his cup of coffee last year and will likely open the season in the Pirates\u2019 rotation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cChandler should be the Pirates\u2019 No. 3 starter this year, behind Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller, although if you want to say he\u2019s their No. 4 starter it doesn\u2019t really matter,\u201d Law wrote. \u201cHe has an elite fastball and a plus changeup, and with that delivery he shouldn\u2019t be walking as many as he did in the minors\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

If both live up to their potential this year, that could go a long way towards helping Pittsburgh make the playoffs<\/a> for the first time since 2015.<\/p>\n

More Pirates: Konnor Griffin Reportedly Open To Contract Extension With Pirates<\/a><\/p>\n

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