BRADENTON, Fla. -- It didn’t take long for baseball’s No. 1 prospect to send one over the fence in live BP this spring. Konnor Griffin was going to go deep; it was only a matter of time. And while Nick Dombkowski probably preferred it to come off someone else, Griffin's

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Jhostynxon Garcia is pronounced just like it’s spelled. Promise. But practice the name just in case, so it can roll effortlessly off the tongue once the 23-year-old outfielder earns his place on the Pirates’ roster.

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Konnor Griffin is just 19 years old. You’ll get sick of hearing that this season, probably sooner than not. But it’s important to remember, and there's a good reason people can’t seem to stop mentioning it. How can baseball’s No. 1 prospect already be so confident --

The hype around Konnor Griffin is well documented. Currently ranked MLB's No. 1 overall prospect, MLB Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo recently examined where the 19-year-old places among the best prospects of this century. Griffin also joined the MLB Pipeline Podcast as a guest recently for a conversation about his extraordinary journey

While the Pirates’ first workout for pitchers and catchers isn’t until Feb. 11, it’s common for some players to report to Pirate City earlier. Whether it’s because they’re rehabbing, they’re going to play in the World Baseball Classic and have an earlier workout schedule or just wanting more time around

When prospect rankings come out, they are based on long-range projection. The order is based on who is perceived to be the best big leaguers five, 10 years down the road. Over the years at MLB.com, there have been top-ranked prospects with eye-popping tools and scouting grades to match. Each

Part of the fun of prospect lists is mentally penciling in which players could be contributors for a club years down the road. For the Pirates, some of their prospects are teenagers years away from the Majors but others should be making an impact very soon. The Pirates have five

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In back-to-back years, the Pirates landed Paul Skenes and Konnor Griffin, MLB’s current No. 1 overall prospect, in the first round of the domestic Draft. On the international market, they’ve landed Top 100 prospect Edward Florentino, Esmerlyn Valdez and Tony Blanco Jr., all of whom are high-upside sluggers who look

When you look at the top of the Pirates’ prospect rankings, what stands out the most is how close many of these players are to being contributors in Pittsburgh in 2026. Their top prospect Konnor Griffin will have a chance to break camp with the team or at least debut

One of the big developments of the past year in baseball is how many young players have risen to the top of prospect rankings. A look at MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list will show you just one player in the top 10 older than 21. Of course, while there's

The Pirates opted to protect most of their top prospects who were eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this year, selecting the contracts of outfielder/first baseman Esmerlyn Valdez (No. 15 on MLB Pipeline’s list of the top Pirates prospects), infielder Jack Brannigan (No. 21), left-hander Tyler Samaniego and right-handers Wilber

For the Pirates to be successful, they’re always going to need a steady supply of talent from their farm system. Some top prospects were already added to the roster this past year, like Bubba Chandler, Hunter Barco, Rafael Flores and Thomas Harrington, but the Pirates still have a few more

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- During the regular season, a Pirates prospect's meteoric rise earned Konnor Griffin – now MLB’s No. 1 overall -- Hitting Prospect of the Year honors. During the fall, fellow 2025 National League All-Star Futures Game representative Esmerlyn Valdez enjoyed his own offensive flurry in the desert en

MESA, Ariz. -- All that anyone could talk about during batting practice for the 2025 Arizona Fall League Home Run Derby was Tony Blanco Jr. From “that’s the biggest guy I’ve ever seen” to “he’s a beast,” the 6-foot-7, 243-pound Pirates prospect drew a fawning crowd of his peers. Once

Ever since he started playing baseball, Esmerlyn Valdez’s favorite player has been José Bautista. More specifically, the legendary bat flip he tossed after his pivotal home run of the 2015 ALDS, a moment he dare not try to recreate. “They'll take me out of the game if I do that,”

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Tony Blanco Jr. certainly looks the part. As the 6-foot-7, 243-pounder strides into the box, wearing the same No. 99 made famous by this generation’s preeminent slugger, it seems he’s capable of the old axiom of “hitting the cover off the ball” every time he coils up

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – For just about any given baseball moment, there’s a “Bull Durham” quote that’s relevant. After Carlson Reed tossed four shutout innings on Wednesday in the Arizona Fall League, it clearly was the gem delivered by Crash Davis to Nuke LaLoosh during a mound visit: “Hey. Relax. Don’t

This story was excerpted from Alex Stumpf’s Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The Pirates turned their attention to the farm system this week, recognizing the top performing prospects for Minor League awards. Most of these players have been covered this year or will have more coverage in the near future, but first, let’s run down the award winners.

The temperature isn't the only thing that's been heating up in the desert with Week 2 of the Arizona Fall League in the books. After a shortened opening week -- due to rain from Hurricane Priscilla and Tropical Storm Raymond, which forced the cancellation of several games -- players appeared

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- There is no professional hitter currently hotter than Esmerlyn Valdez. The Pirates’ 21-year-old outfield prospect hammered two more home runs Sunday during Salt River’s 11-3 win over Glendale at Goodyear Ballpark, giving him seven roundtrippers in eight games. He’s 10-for-20 during his time in the Arizona Fall