Here is our weekly report on the Pirates farm system, highlighting three guys who lit up the box scores last week (or did the opposite).
Edward Florentino
I think the tweet’s caption says everything about how good this kid is. Edward Florentino is at the pace that Seth Hernandez is, where the sample size is small but it is apparent that both are far too good to be in Bradenton even at the age of 19. Florentino entered the season as one of the premier prospects in the Pirates’ farm system, and 9 games in he has shown us exactly why people are fawning over his abilities. He is slugging at .750 and his wRC+ is well over 200 so far, not to mention he is walking at a clip 10 percentage points higher than he is striking out. The Pirates have had a very long history of DSL players who seem promising but never come close to panning out in the majors. Florentino is on a protectory to be the most impact international player the Pirates have produced since Gregory Polanco (which is not a very high bar to be trying and clear). At this torrid pace, Florentino is looking at a promotion before May is over. This is a blue chip prospect everyone should learn the name of now.
Jared Jones
While the flamethrowing starter Jared Jones did make his first rehab start this week in Bradenton, the other Jared Jones in the system was also mashing the baseball. The slugger out of LSU in the 2025 draft has been making A+ ball pitchers look foolish in Greensboro. After struggling to make an impression last year, Jones is now rocking a .306/.386/.389 slash line in his first 21 games of the season. While you would like to see an eventual improvement to his power (he has only hit one home run so far in the early season), he is establishing the tools needed to start moving up the ranks of the Pirates’ system. Double-A will be the real test for him, if he can replicate this high batting average and OBP in Altoona, there is a real prospect on our hands here.
Axiel Plaz
Axiel Plaz is an interesting prospect, because he was gaining a lot of traction as a top guy during his stint in the DSL, but it has taken him a while to adjust to A and A+ ball. The breakout that people saw in him has finally come in 2026 at the age of 20, because he is destroying the baseball in Greensboro right now. Plaz is hitting .360/.424/.547 which is good for a 154 wRC+, and is showing off an impressive combination of power and an ability to hit to all sides of the field. He is pulling the ball 33% of the time, central 30%, and opposite field 37%. Usually players who hit like this are required to forfeit power to achieve these results, but so far Plaz has been able to find a good balance and it shows with his low strikeout rates as well. Because he has been streaky in the past, we need to wait and see just how legit this surge of power is. However, the Pirates do add another exciting catching prospect to their collection that you hope is better than the last few who have come up through the minors.
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