{"id":121217,"date":"2026-05-04T00:38:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T04:38:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=121217"},"modified":"2026-05-04T00:38:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T04:38:55","slug":"way-too-early-pittsburgh-pirates-2026-draft-ranking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/05\/04\/way-too-early-pittsburgh-pirates-2026-draft-ranking\/","title":{"rendered":"A Way-Too-Early Pittsburgh Pirates 2026 Draft Ranking"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2026 MLB Draft is still another two months away. However, it\u2019s never too early to start thinking about who the Pittsburgh Pirates may take. The lottery rewarded the Pirates with the fifth overall selection of this year\u2019s draft. The last two years have netted them some extremely promising players, including shortstop Konnor Griffin<\/a> (who is starting to heat up in the Major Leagues, and the Pirates gave a nine-year extension<\/a>) and Seth Hernandez<\/a> (who looks like he could be baseball\u2019s next consensus number one prospect<\/a>). While a lot can change between now and the time of the draft, three names stand out as the most likely based on recent mock drafts and draft rankings. These rankings are in order from most likely to least likely to become the first Pirates 2026 draft pick, based on where things currently stand.<\/p>\n

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2026 Pirates Draft Rankings, Two Months Out<\/h2>\n

1. Jackson Flora<\/h2>\n

All three players in this ranking are nearly interchangeable as of right now, given how closely they are in rankings and mock drafts. However, Jackson Flora<\/a> stands out as one of the most likely names the Pirates could take<\/a> in this year\u2019s draft. The hard-throwing right-hander has become the best college hurler in this year\u2019s draft class.<\/p>\n

Flora has attended UC Santa Barbara for his entire college career. This year, he has tossed 74 1\/3 innings while posting a sub-1.00 ERA (0.73) and WHIP (0.901). Flora has had no problems striking out college opponents with a 32.5% strikeout rate. His 9.2% walk rate is an uptick from last year\u2019s 5.5%; however, his K-BB% is still a very strong 23.3%. Plus, he has only allowed a single home run, compared to seven last season through 75 innings.<\/p>\n

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Jackson Flora lowers his ERA to 0.73 during an 8-strikeout performance \ud83d\udca5<\/p>\n

Scouting grades and more on the top-ranked pitching prospect in the 2026 Draft class: https:\/\/t.co\/ywDpwUKk26<\/a><\/p>\n

(\ud83d\udcf9: @UCSB_Baseball<\/a>) pic.twitter.com\/WRzFjdUUpq<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 2, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n