The Pittsburgh Pirates entered the All-Star break at 50-47. Save for a collapse after the break, the Bucs will be buyers for the first time in what seems like forever. The Pirates should be aggressive on the trade market, and there are very few Pirates prospects that should be off limits. Fixing the bullpen should be their number one priority, and adding another bat, dropping Mitch Keller’s contract, and possibly another starter could also be on their to-do list.
What Pirates Prospects Should Be Untouchable as the Trade Deadline Approaches?
Seth Hernandez Should Be One of the Only Untouchable Pirates Prospects
If the Pirates are aggressive, the one name they shouldn’t move is right-hander and 2025 first-round pick Seth Hernandez. The right-hander has pitched to an excellent 2.61 ERA, 3.62 FIP, and 1.07 WHIP over 69 innings between A-Ball Bradenton and High-A Greensboro. Walks have given him some trouble with an 11% BB rate, though most of that has come with the Grasshoppers. Hernandez has struck out 40.8% of batters and has a called+swinging strike rate of 35.5%.
Most of Hernandez’s struggles came in his first few starts at Greensboro. His first five starts saw him post a 4.15 ERA, 16.7% BB rate, and 6.17 FIP. He still had a 20% K-BB ratio in this small sample, and he has turned it around recently. His last five outings have yielded a 3.26 ERA, 10.3% BB rate, and 3.23 FIP. Hernandez has struggled with home runs at Greensboro, but he does pitch in a hitter-friendly home park, and his HR: FB ratio since reaching High-A is an unsustainable 23.5% mark.
Hernandez has ascended the prospect rankings quickly and now ranks as a consensus top-10 prospect in the sport. Both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America rank him as the sixth-best prospect overall. Very few Pirates prospects have ever ranked as highly as Hernandez currently does. Both sites also give at least three of his pitches 60-grades or better, both also state his control projects as above-average, and both also rank him as the best Pirates prospect. Hernandez is one of the greatest prep pitchers of all-time to enter the Major League Baseball draft, and is pitching like it. It would be hard to convince many to part with Hernandez, even with the Pirates’ myriad of pitching talent.
Edward Florentino Shouldn’t Be Off-Limits, but Should Be Highly Valued
Edward Florentino shouldn’t be an untouchable prospect, but the Pirates should only move him for the right price, and nothing short of it. Florentino has spent most of his 2026 season at Greensboro, where he has a .213/.335/.343 triple-slash, .343 wOBA, and 92 wRC+ over 236 plate appearances. He has hit for power, with a dozen homers and a .213 isolated slugging percentage. Plus, he is walking at a 14.4% clip. However, he has also struck out 28.4% of the time with a contact percentage of just 59.6%.
Florentino is hitting much better as of recently. He owns a 1.001 OPS and a 139 wRC+ since June 20th. A .250 batting average on balls in play at Greensboro also was not doing him any favors. He has risen back to a more sustainable .290 mark since June 20th. Florentino is also very young for his level. He is in his age-19 campaign. Among hitters with at least 200 plate appearances at High-A, Florentino is the fourth youngest.
Despite his struggles, Florentino ranks as the 30th best prospect on both Pipeline and BA’s top 100 prospect lists. Among Pirates prospects, he still ranks as their second best, just behind Hernandez. There is still work to be done with Florentino, and the Pirates should be open to moving him, but shouldn’t budge on their price for him. They should only trade Florentino if they get back a legitimate impact MLB player with control remaining beyond 2027.
Aside from Hernandez and maybe Florentino, depending on his market, the Pirates should be open to moving any prospect. They need to get aggressive at the deadline. They’ve already made one aggressive trade, sending their competitive balance round A pick to the Chicago White Sox for two players, including their 2023 first-round pick, Jacob Gonzalez. If they’re willing to do that, then they should be open to moving most of their other prospects.
Main Photo Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
