North Shore Nine

This week on WNS9+, we were joined by the mind behind ZiPS himself, Dan Szymborski, for a deep dive into the freshly released 2026 Pittsburgh Pirates projections. Dan walked us through why this year’s forecast is surprisingly optimistic, highlighted by one massive development: Konnor Griffin already grading out as a potentially above-average MLB shortstop at age nineteen. According to Dan, ZiPS hasn’t handed a Pirates prospect this kind of early projection in years, putting Griffin in rare company.

From there, we dug into the rotation (loaded), the lineup (less so), and the players ZiPS still stubbornly believes in, including Jack Suwinski. Dan also explained why Spencer Horwitz may be more valuable than people think, why Bryan Reynolds’ age-related decline flags are real, and what realistic upgrades the Pirates could target this offseason, including a push for Kyle Schwarber as a full-time DH.

It’s one of our sharpest analytical episodes of the offseason and a must-listen for any Pirates fan tracking the roster build.

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