BRADENTON, Fla. -- They've got the No. 1 prospect in baseball, so it’s pretty hard to ignore the Pirates’ farm system this season. And while top dog Konnor Griffin seems set for his Major League debut this year, there is still plenty of future to be excited about in the Minors.
MLB Pipeline released its annual preseason rankings Thursday, ranking Pittsburgh the third-best farm system in baseball, with names like Griffin, Bubba Chandler (the No. 11 overall prospect), Seth Hernandez (No. 29), Edward Florentino (No. 50) and Hunter Barco (No. 96) leading the pack.
The latest report represents a six-spot jump from the last rankings, done in midseason 2025, and a steady increase from midseason ’24 (No. 20) and ’25 preseason (14), something that points to the organization’s overall internal improvement as much as it does its busy offseason.
Pittsburgh’s farm system might have been viewed a bit top-heavy in recent seasons due to the depth of on-the-cusp talent in the top 10, but this early-season projection shows a much better balance among the ranks, something that should allow the Minor League system to retain its Top 10 ranking even after guys like Griffin, Chandler and Barco head to the Majors.
Perhaps the most exciting trend is the position-wise diversity looking ahead: There are five catchers, one first baseman, one second baseman, one third baseman, four shortstops, one outfielder, two left-handed pitchers, nine right-handed pitchers, and six utility players in Pittsburgh's Top 30 prospects (for simplicity, any non-catcher with more than one position listed was counted as a utility player).
“[The pipeline is] really strong,” Bucs manager Don Kelly said Friday. “Obviously, Konnor has done a great job. [Jhostynxon] Garcia coming over from the Red Sox has been great. When you talk about the young guys in camp that have done a great job, [Duce] Gourson and Termarr Johnson and [Nick] Cimillo, [Mitch] Jebb and [Dominic] Fletcher coming from the White Sox.
“Then you look at the young kids -- [Yordany] De Los Santos is one that stands out -- that have come over as a backup and have done really well. I feel really good about where our Minor League situation is right now.”
Griffin, who’ll turn 20 on April 24, tore through three levels of the Minors in 2025 after the Bucs took him ninth overall in the ‘24 MLB Draft. The talented shortstop put up video-game numbers at every stop:
Single-A Bradenton (50 games): .338/.396/.536, nine homers, 36 RBIs
High-A Greensboro (51 games): .325/.432/.510, seven homers, 36 RBIs
Double-A Altoona (21 games): .337/.418/.542, five homers, 22 RBIs
Entering play Friday, all three of Griffin’s Grapefruit League hits this spring were home runs. They’ve come against solid pitching, too, suggesting that Griffin -- who owned a 1.124 OPS through his first six spring games this season -- might be up for a Major League challenge sooner rather than later.
“You see the talent, the way he runs, throws, fields, everything, maturity level, and puts it all together,” Kelly said. “It's exciting that he is a Pirate.”
Chandler made his MLB debut last August and worked to a 4-1 record and a 4.02 ERA across seven games (four starts) down the stretch, racking up 31 strikeouts in his 31 1/3 innings. He can hit triple digits with his fastball -- something he’s displayed this spring, even though he’s also still working off some offseason rust, issuing seven walks in three Grapefruit League innings (two appearances) so far. Chandler also has three solid secondary pitches that should allow him to slot in seamlessly toward the back of the Pirates’ rotation this season.
Barco also made his big league debut late last season. His funky delivery causes a deception that’s given batters fits so far this spring, with six strikeouts and zero earned runs across his 4 1/3 innings (two appearances) so far. He has the bonus of likely being the only lefty in the rotation.
Hernandez and Florentino aren’t quite Majors-ready, but their young careers still have high ceilings. Hernandez was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft and was widely considered the top right-handed arm available. He’s not yet played official professional ball -- the 19-year-old came straight out of high school, and Pittsburgh opted to ease him into the next step with things like instructional camp and the Dominican Instructional League, as is often the case with prep stars.
That didn't scare the prognosticators any: Hernandez and Chandler make up Pipeline's top pitching prospect duo.
Florentino joined the Pirates during the international signing period in 2024 and then made some real waves in his first year of professional ball. The outfielder held his own in the Dominican Summer League, then came to the U.S. and hit .347 with a 1.084 OPS with the Rookie-Level Pirates and earned a promotion to Single-A Bradenton.