Pirates Will Still have Baseball’s #1 Prospect by 2027

The Pittsburgh Pirates have the consensus number one prospect in the entire sport. Shortstop Konnor Griffin ranks as the best prospect in baseball by any major prospect publication: Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, Baseball Prospectus, and FanGraphs, and he is number one anywhere you look. It’s rare to see nearly everyone agree on one player being the best prospect. The Pirates’ system is absolutely stacked right now and is generally considered a top-threesystem in baseball. There’s enough talent that by the end of the year, the Pirates will still have the number one prospect in baseball, even after Konnor Griffin is no longer a prospect.

Pirates Will Still have Baseball’s #1 Prospect by 2027

Edward Florentino Is One Of Baseball’s Fastest Rising Prospects

The first candidate to take the number one spot from the Pirates’ system is Edward Florentino. The outfield prospect turned in an outstanding .290/.400/.548 triple-slash, with a .442 wOBA, and 159 wRC+ over 351 plate appearances between the Florida Complex League and A-Ball Bradenton. He belted 16 homers while putting up a .259 isolated slugging percentage. Florentino had an astounding 14% walk rate, with a respectable 22.2% strikeout percentage.

Florentino is now a consensus top 50 prospect in the sport, with both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus ranking him among the top 30. He became one of baseball’s best prospects by rarely swinging and missing and making quality contact at A-Ball. His whiff rate was just 16.3% at A-Ball, while putting up an 89 MPH exit velocity, and 8.5% barrel rate. Florentino saw 53 pitches at 96+ MPH, and didn’t have a single whiff. He was the only A-Ball hitter to see 50+ pitches at 96+ MPH and have a 0% whiff rate. The most impressive part is that Florentino did all of this in his age-18 season.

This isn’t the first time someone thought Florentino could be baseball’s best prospect by next year. Baseball America also holds a similar sentiment. According to their metrics, Florentino had the best HIT+ among their top 100 prospects. He also ranked as their top hitting prospect in the FCL last year. They also stated that he was one of their fastest-rising prospects, going from outside the Pirates’ top 20 prospects to their 28th-best prospect in the entire sport. His mix of contact, power, and baserunning (Florentino went 35-for-41 in stolen base attempts this year) is a rare blend.

Seth Hernandez’s Talent Is In The Stratosphere

Florentino isn’t the only prospect the Pirates have who could be a future number one prospect. 2025 first-round draft pick Seth Hernandez received extremely high praise at the time of the draft. The right-hander was considered one of, if not the best, prep pitcher ever in the draft’s history. He even received comparisons to former three-time All-Star and ALCS and World Series MVP, Josh Beckett. This high praise doesn’t come without merit.

Hernandez already sits mid-to-upper-90s, and topping out in the triple-digits as a teenage hurler. His scorching fastball, nor his 3000+ RPM 12-6 curveball, is his best pitch. That would be his low-80s change-up. Even his mid-to-upper-80s slider is seen as an above-average offering. Despite his age and velocity, Hernandez doesn’t show many control issues. He doesn’t turn 20 until late June either.

Pitchers do not usually rank as the number one prospect in baseball. Roki Sasaki is the last pitching prospect to rank number one on multiple lists (Baseball America and MLB Pipeline). However, Hernandez has a higher ceiling than Sasaki at a younger age and doesn’t have injury question marks. The pitcher Hernandez compares to the most as a prospect, Josh Beckett, was the number one prospect in baseball in 2002.

Florentino and Hernandez are extremely advanced prospects, even though they’re not even 20 yet. Both are among the top 50 prospects in the entire sport by multiple sites. Florentino hasn’t played a full season yet, and Hernandez hasn’t made his pro debut either. They may have the most to gain of any prospect in baseball by playing a full season, and they’re both in the Pirates’ system.