Breaking Down Every Pirates Pick From the 2026 MLB Draft

All right. Welcome to the North Shore Nine podcast presented by FanDuel. I'm Jim and the Pittsburgh Pirates have just completed the 2026 MLB draft. They added 21 players over 20 rounds. We're going to go through each and every one of them today. We're going to go through what they do well, what the concern is, and what the Pirates appear to be betting on here.

I'm not going to lie. This isn't me pretending to know everything about every single one of these players. If you want to do a little bit more research, I can't shout out Bucs On Deck, Baseball America, and MLB Pipeline enough. That's where I went. And I tried to read up on every single one of these guys as much as I could. But if you want to dive in deeper to these selections, I highly recommend checking out those three resources.

But we're going to spend some time on these selections. We're going to spend a little bit more time on the top picks, then we'll move through quickly in the later rounds and identify a couple of traits that make each player worth drafting.

First thing I want to start off with, Baseball America, Carlos Collazo said, quote, this might be his favorite draft of the year. A couple of things to mention there. 10 of the Pirates' first 11 selections were members of Baseball America's top 500.

Eight of those first 11 selections were ranked inside Baseball America's top 150. That's eight in the whole draft. Sorry.

But Collazo said it was a no-nonsense, straight-up talented draft.

He mentions Derek Curiel, the Pirates' fifth overall pick. That was his favorite selection.

He's pinned on him from the get-go.

But yeah, he says it doesn't really guarantee anything, but it tells that Pittsburgh wasn't really just manipulating bonus pools or reaching for players who would sign cheaply here.

They went after some talent that Baseball America at least saw was pretty highly ranked.

So the first part of this draft, it was centered around contact, defensive value, and players with a strong offensive foundation.

After that, it became really pitching heavy.

There's a couple of things that they were targeting that it seems.

So we'll go over those as well as we go through these picks.

So let's start off with the first pick of the draft for the Pirates' fifth overall out of Louisiana State, outfielder Derek Curiel.

He's one of the best pure hitters in this draft class.

He's got an advanced plate approach, excellent contact ability.

He handles velocity, handles secondary pitches.

He's got a really good shot of remaining in center field.

And the power and overall impact are really just the primary questions here.

The Pirates didn't really select the player with the loudest raw tools with this pick.

They picked the guy who was one of the best pure hitters in this draft.

So one thing I did hear from a team source on this is the Pirates believe they can get more impact out of Curiel.

Their view is that he already does a lot of things correct at a foundational level that they can help him create more damage without taking away the contact approach that makes him so special.

The other description that I got was pretty simple.

They believe that he's just a dog.

The big question with Curiel is will he ever hit for enough power?

The Pirates apparently don't believe that the current version of his impact is the finished product.

They don't view this necessarily as a safe pick.

They believe the foundation here gives Curiel a chance to become a more impactful off player.

Next up is Aiden Ruiz, a high school shortstop from New York.

He's a switch hitter.

Probably the best defensive shortstop in this class.

Excellent hands, footwork, instincts.

Makes both the spectacular and the routine plays.

Got good contact skills, but really limited power.

He already has that carrying tool of his defense.

That's going to give him a legitimate path to the major leagues before we really even know how much offensive impact he can produce.

Talking to a team source, the Pirates scouts love this guy.

They called him a stud, said they can't wait to see him paired with the other middle infielders that are currently developing in the lower levels of the system.

And yeah, the public reports love the glove.

Pirates scouts seem to love the entire player.

So they're starting to build a real group of athletic middle infielders in the lower minors.

Once you combine him with Yohan de los Santos, Daryl Morel, etc., etc., Wyatt Sanford.

Ruiz adds another player who can legitimately handle shortstop rather than someone who's already projected to move off the position.

So the glove here creates a pretty high floor.

The development of his strength and his offensive impact is going to determine the ceiling on this one.

Next up is Chris Rembrandt, third-round pick, second baseman out of Auburn.

He's an advanced college hitter, strong bat-to-ball skills, fast hands, good bat speed, gap-to-gap approach, steady second base defense, but not outstanding.

But he makes ground ball heavy contact that limits his power.

This is another one of those players where, the foundation is built around just finding the barrel.

Rembrandt has enough strength and bat speed to do more damage, but he'll need to lift the ball quite a bit more consistently without sacrificing the contact ability that's made him successful in the past.

So the Pirates took three hitters to begin the draft, and all three bring that strong contact foundation with them.

In the third round, they picked North Carolina right-handed pitcher Jason DeCaro.

He's only 20 years old despite three seasons at UNC.

He's got extensive starting experience, a four-pitch mix.

He's a really good strike thrower.

Sequences well, generates weak contact, doesn't really have a current dominant swing and miss pitch yet.

He's unusually young for a college junior, but he does have a lot of experience, a lot of workload of a much older pitcher.

The issue here, he's not really overpowering hitters.

he's sequencing, he's changing speeds, he's getting weak contact.

I think the Pirates are betting that either the stuff can take a step forward here because of his age or that his feel for pitching is already strong enough to carry him as a starter.

But overall, this looks more like a durable starter projection than like a huge ceiling power arm.

Next up in the fourth round is high school outfielder from Nevada, Andrew Giles.

He's got a compact left-handed swing, good contact ability, raw power.

That shows, in practice more than games right now.

He's got average to solid speed, good chance to play center field, but he could eventually need to move to an outfield corner.

He's one of those hit-first selections with more raw power than he's shown.

But again, plenty of time to grow into that.

If he remains in center field, like the offensive bar is pretty manageable here.

If he moves to a corner, the Pirates are going to have to hope that they can unlock a little bit more of that raw power.

Next up, round five, pick 140, left-handed pitcher Ryan Marone from NC State.

He's an advanced command left-hander.

Changeup is his best pitch, changes speeds, disrupts timing, solid strikeout production.

He missed time with bicep soreness and a forearm strain.

And another one of those, like, higher floor-than-ceiling type pitchers here.

Marone's more command over stuff.

Nothing really overwhelming, but he does understand how to locate, how to change speeds, keep hitters uncomfortable.

The questions here are going to be, his health and whether the stuff is good enough to survive deeper into professional lineups.

But when healthy, he gives the Pirates another legitimate starting pitching candidate.

So, again, we've started off there.

Contact.

College pitcher, college pitcher.

We got another college pitcher up next here from round six.

Right-handed pitcher out of Alabama, Tyler Faye.

He was Alabama's Friday night starter this year.

Fastball 92 to 95, touches 97.

Sweeping slider, really deep pitch mix.

Reliable strike thrower.

He threw a no-hitter against Florida this year with 13 strikeout performance.

So, you got a legit college performer here.

He's already carried an SEC rotation.

He doesn't really have an overwhelming pitch, but he does throw strikes.

He offers multiple looks and has experience working deep into games.

So, feels like someone who can move relatively quickly if the stuff translates.

Or, maybe a move to the bullpen as well.

Next up, another college arm, Bryson Moore, right-handed pitcher out of Florida State with the seventh-round pick.

92 to 94 on the fastball, touches 96.

High spin rate on the slider and the curveball.

Also throws a cutter and a change-up five-pitch mix.

Solid strikeout and walk rates.

His appeal is really the depth of his arsenal and the ability to spin two different breaking balls.

There isn't really one huge offering here, but there are enough ingredients to let him continue starting.

Another college arm.

Again, they just keep going to this well.

Round eight.

Alex Overbay, the son of former major leaguer Brandon Lowe Overbay.

His fastball can reach 98.

Slider has his best pitch.

He's mostly worked in relief at Arizona State.

Control needs some improvement.

Evaluators do believe he could potentially start.

But this feels like a pitch development selection.

The obvious path here is a fastball slider reliever who attacks hitters with power.

The more interesting possibility is that the Pirates believe that there's enough here to develop him as a starter.

The stuff did take a step forward.

Now it's up to the Pirates to help see if he can throw enough strikes to access that stuff.

Rounding out the top 10 here with pick number nine, this is one of the most interesting picks of the draft for me.

Third baseman slash outfielder out of Georgia, Trey Phelps.

He hit .348 with a .468 on-base percentage and slugged .628 last season with 19 homers.

He's a big bat speed, big exit velocities.

He can handle premium velocity, improved his strikeout rate.

He does expand the zone quite a bit.

He doesn't really have a clear defensive home.

But yeah, he's one of the more interesting picks in this entire class for me.

The defensive questions are certainly real, but the bat has a chance to make them irrelevant.

He can catch up to the high-end velocity like I mentioned before, produces loud contact, has legit power.

The concern is whether professional pitchers can get him to chase enough breaks to keep that power from playing.

So, if Phelps can hit, nobody's going to really care whether he ends up at third base, left field, or first base.

All right, so rounding out the top 10 picks with the 11th pick of the Pirates draft out of the Citadel, right-handed pitcher Michael Gibson.

He's a two-way player.

He had 73 strikeouts and 53 innings, 10 saves, unusual delivery, low 80 slider that can be his best pitch.

He was also over an 1100 OPS as a hitter.

The Pirates appear to be taking Gibson as a pitcher, but the two-way background tells you, there's obviously some athleticism here.

He brings an unconventional delivery, a potential nasty slider in experience pitching and leverage.

He's exactly the type of senior relief arm, team's target around this part of the draft.

Should be a relatively cheap underslot signing here as well to help the Pirates spread a little bit of money throughout the rest of the draft.

So, those are the Pirates rounds 1 through 10.

I'm going to kick things over to Cody.

He's going to tell you about IQ Bar for a little bit, and then we'll finish up with the Pirates' second half of the draft.

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All right, so picking up at the second half of this draft, the Pirates really decided to target some developmental pitchers here.

We're going to start in the 11th round with high school arm Spencer Evans out of Florida.

Projectable high school left-hander.

Ball reaches 95 to 96 already.

Slider flashes above average.

He's got an improving change-up athletic delivery.

Command and control are the inconsistencies here.

The issue with Evans, he's got a strong LSU.

Hopefully, the Pirates are able to save a little bit of money in the first half of the draft and can spread that out.

One of those being to Evans later on here because, yeah, he's going to – there's going to have to be a pretty hefty signing bonus here, I think, to get Evans out of that LSU commitment.

This could be the Pirates' biggest peer swing after the first round, to be honest with you guys.

At his best, he can look like a much earlier selection.

The size, velocity, the secondary pitches, they're all there.

The problem is that the strikes and overall performance haven't always matched the quality of the stuff.

But again, he's young, high school arm.

The first challenge here is going to get him to be signed away from LSU.

After that, the challenge is turning an intriguing collection of pitches and talent into a reliable starting pitcher.

Next up in round 12, Rowan Leto from San Diego State, right-handed pitcher.

Younger than the typical college pick, fastball around 90-92 with some carry.

Sweeper has potential.

Also throws a curveball and a changeup.

He's got some remaining physical projection as well.

Leto doesn't really have huge velocity presently, but he's still young enough for a college pitcher that there could be another step coming.

The sweeper appears to be the pitch with the most developmental upside here.

Next up in round 13 is Griffin Stig, right-handed pitcher from Virginia Tech.

He just returned from Tommy John surgery.

It was a rough season to perform, but sinker can reach 97.

He's got more than 20 inches of horizontal movement on it.

Low arm slot.

Also throws a slider and a changeup.

Relief pitching may be the best fit here.

This is a bet on the movement profile rather than his ERA.

Stig struggled coming back from surgery, but like I said, the sinker that can reach 97 gives the Pirates something specific to develop.

Next up in round 14, a Canadian right-handed pitcher out of Heartlake secondary, DeMarcus Rideout Carter.

Lean 6'3 frame.

Fastballs climbed into the low 90s.

He's touched as high as 95.

Slider flashes potential.

Plenty of physical projection.

Just your classic long-term projection pick.

Pirates are drafting what the body and velocity could become after a few years in a professional strength and developmental program here.

In the 15th round, they take right-handed pitcher Liam O'Leary from St. John's.

He had a 3-6-4 ERA in 108 innings last year.

Fastball reaches 93-94.

Slider curveball changeup on top of that.

He is a proven college starter.

Helped St. John's reach a super regional last year.

Not every later-round pitcher has to be a huge traits project.

O'Leary has already carried a college rotation.

He's thrown a lot of innings and shown that he can navigate a lineup with four pitches.

Next up, round 16, Grant Gavel from University of Southern California.

Another pretty high upside pick here.

I was surprised that he was still available.

He went 10-3 with a 2-8-7 ERA with 99 strikeouts and 103 innings this year.

He's an excellent strike thrower.

Fastball has carry extension.

Changeup generated a 44% whiff rate.

He's got a really deep arsenal.

Might be one of the more sneakier selections in this draft.

The fastball velocity is not overwhelming by any means, but the shape extension and the approach angle allow it to play above the radar game.

Add in the effective changeup and excellent control.

There's a legitimate starting pitching foundation here.

This is one of the later picks I would circle as someone who could outperform his draft position.

Next up, 17th round pick.

Out of Kennesaw State.

Not a whole lot of information to go off of this guy.

I had trouble finding anything on him, but he was a high-leverage college reliever.

This is Nate Hellman, right-handed pitcher from Kennesaw State.

High-leverage college reliever.

He had 40 strikeouts in 31 innings, 38 appearances over his last two seasons, five consecutive scoreless appearances at one point.

ERA wasn't outstanding by any means, 5.81, but the strikeout production was there.

Clearly shows some ability to miss bats, but I can't really say much more on this.

There's not really much pitch level and pitch information available.

Looks like a bullpen pick with a chance to move.

The Pirates can identify which pitches drove that strikeout run.

Next one, round 18, Malachi Washington, an outfielder from Parkview High School in Georgia.

This one is one of the best athletes in this class.

Again, he fell to the 18th round.

He's got a really strong commitment to LSU.

He's a power over hit, plus speed, plus arm, play center field.

Good swing decisions and breaking ball recognition are concerns right now, but again, he's a high school kid.

He's also gone on his Instagram and said that he's planning to attend LSU even after being drafted.

So, yeah, that's the reason why he was still here at round 19 is the combination of the offensive risk that comes with him, but he's going to be extremely difficult to sign away from LSU.

And honestly, it's been three days since the draft, and he may already be out of the picture.

But, yeah, the tools are obvious.

The question here is whether he will ever actually become a part of the Pirates system.

Round 19, Andrew Duncan, an outfielder from Wright State.

He's currently committed a transfer to the University of Tennessee.

Hit .367 at Wright State this year.

Bunch of extra base hits.

He can play center field.

He was drafted by the Astros last year.

In the same round, in round 19.

But he does plan to attend Tennessee.

He's already posted on his Instagram that he's planning on honoring his transfer commitment to Tennessee.

So, again, another tough signing for the Pirates if they're wanting to lure him out of that commitment to play his final college year at Tennessee.

And then, lastly, rounding out the draft is left-handed pitcher from the University of North Florida, Dakota Stone.

He was 7-3 with a 2.85 ERA, 102 strikeouts in 79 innings last year.

He was a National Pitcher of the Year semifinalist.

He was a first-team All-Atlantic Sun.

Not a ton of information on what he throws or anything like that.

But we do know that he had a lot of success in a smaller conference at a smaller school.

So, there's some deception here.

He struck out a lot of batters.

Pitch quality or feel might be there.

But we're going to have to see what this looks like at the pro level before we can really take any final takeaways.

So, that's the Pirates draft class.

for me, the Pirates began this draft mostly by targeting hitters with contact skills.

Pretty strong defense, strong offensive foundations.

Curiel, Ruiz, and Rembert, they're all different players.

But none of them necessarily require the Pirates to build an offensive scratch.

The other takeaway I have here is that they believe that there's more upside than some of these current tools suggest.

Especially with their early picks.

The most interesting internal note is that the Pirates believe that Curiel's foundation gives them room to unlock a lot more impact than what we've seen at the college level.

They don't appear to view him as a finished low-power contact hitter like the scouting reports have shown.

They think that he can create a lot more damage while preserving what he already does well.

And there's a lot of enthusiasm around Ruiz as well.

Calling a second-round high school player.

Like I said, they're saying he's a stud.

Scouts all love him.

Pairing him with the other younger middle infielders in the organization.

They're excited to do that.

And then, final takeaway here.

The pitching selections, they were trait-specific, right?

Later in the draft, the Pirates collected a lot of things that they believe they can develop.

High spin, breaking balls, fastball carry, unusual release points, some deception, change-up quality.

The goal isn't really for all of these pitchers to become starters, obviously.

The goal is for enough of those individual traits to turn into major league weapons at some point.

My overall read on this draft is that it was a deep draft, not necessarily a flashy one.

Curiel is the clear headliner here.

But the success of this class will be determined on whether or not they can unlock that next level for Curiel.

And whether they can have Ruiz and Rembert hit enough.

Does Dakaro become a major league starter?

Are they able to sign some of these tougher high school, high upside players that they picked later in the draft?

That's going to determine a lot here.

So, all 21 players, obviously, need to work.

Don't need to work for draft successful.

If Curiel becomes an everyday player, you just need a few other things to matriculate for this to be a good draft.

So, for you guys, outside Derek Curiel, or maybe it is Curiel, which player from this Pirates draft class are you most interested to follow?

We're going to see them enter this organization here shortly.

Many of them will start at the Complex.

Some may start in Bradenton.

Some may even go to Greensboro.

And then some we may not even see until next year.

But I'm curious to hear your thoughts, what you thought of the draft.

Again, for me, deep draft.

But they've got a lot of work to do.

They've got to sign some of these high school high upside picks that they had later in the draft.

And again, a lot of this is going to ride on whether or not they can unlock that next level with Derek Curiel.

Is he just going to be a contact hitter?

Or can they get a little bit more out of him to get a little bit more impact?

So, that was the 2026 MLB draft for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

I'm Jim.

This was the North Shore Nine podcast presented by FanDuel.

Let's go Bucs.