The MLB Amateur draft isn’t until July during All-Star festivities. There is still a ton of time between then and now. However, that won’t stop early mock drafts, and scouting reports from being updated constantly. The Pittsburgh Pirates will have the fifth overall pick in this year’s draft. While a lot can change over the next four months, let’s take a way too early preview at who the Pirates may select with their fifth overall.
Shortstops currently dominate MLB Pipeline’s draft prospect rankings. Four of the top five draft prospects are middle infielders. Jim Callis projected the Pirates taking high school shortstop Jacob Lombard with the fifth overall pick in December. This still holds true in March. Lombard is able to generate plus power from his 6’3”, 185-LBS frame. He is also a plus runner, which gives him good range at shortstop. Lombard had some problems with fastballs at the top of the zone, according to Pipeline, but his athleticism should help him improve his hit tool. His defense at shortstop looks outstanding, showing off good range, reaction, and reads. His arm strength may not be the best among the young shortstops in this class, but he still has enough to stick at the position long term.
As of right now, MLB Pipeline ranks Lombard as their 4th best draft prospect, and Baseball America ranks him at number six. Some fans may not love the idea of drafting a shortstop when the Pirates’ number one prospect, and the consensus number one prospect in all of baseball, Konnor Griffin, is also a shortstop. However, that’s far from a good reason not to have Lombard on the table as a potential first round draft pick for the Bucs.
Baseball America’s most recent mock draft currently has the Pirates taking UC Santa Barbara right-hander Jackson Flora. Flora worked as a starter/reliever hybrid during his first two college seasons. This year, he has moved into the rotation fulltime. Flora has pitched 31.1 innings thus far into 2026, with a 1.15 ERA, striking out 31.5% of opponents, with a free pass percentage coming in at just 6.5%. Flora has also only allowed one home run.
Flora is listed at 6’5”, 205-LBS, and can generate plenty of velocity. He sits around 97 MPH, and can hit triple-digits. Flora’s fastball also has above-average riding life. The right-hander has two breaking pitches. One is a upper-70s/low-80s sweeper with plus horizontal break, and the other is an upper-80s slider with more traditional movement. Flora has also worked on a kick-change as his off-speed offering, and a slurvy curveball. Despite his whippy arm action and higher-effort delivery, Flora doesn’t have control issues.
This year’s draft class also has a handful of talented outfielders that could go early in the first round. Drew Burress from Georgia Tech is the best and has a good chance of being available when the Pirates are on the clock. Burress is batting .302/.444/.581 through his first 108 plate appearances of the 2026 season. He also has more walks (18) than strikeouts (16). Burress has drawn more walks than he has K’s every year of his college career thus far. Last year, he went yard 19 times with a 1.162 OPS in 290 plate appearances.
Despite Burress’ smaller stature, standing at 5’9”, 185-LBS, he is able to generate plus power from his bat speed. He also makes more than enough contact for his power to get into games. Burress is fast enough that he could stick in center field long term. However, if he must move to a corner in the future, his plus arm strength will play wherever they put him in the grass.
The other outfielder worth mentioning is Derek Curiel. Coming out of Paul Skenes’ alma mater, Louisiana State University, Curiel is batting .329/.414/.459 through 105 plate appearances in 2026. He has also taken 14 walks, while only going down on strikes 15 times. In 2025, he batted .343 with an impressive 16.5% walk rate and 17.3% strikeout percentage, but went yard just seven times over 323 plate appearances.
As indicated by his numbers, Curiel is a hit-over-power outfielder. He has an excellent hit tool, and can drive the gaps. He already has 26 doubles in 90 college games. He has enough strength to go yard 15+ times a year, but is built to rack up a ton of doubles. His approach lets him draw plenty of walks as well. Curiel is an above-average runner, and has displayed solid outfield defense. MLB Pipeline draws comparisons to early-career Christian Yelich.
If the Pirates want a college middle infielder, it may end up being Justin Lebron. Lebron comes from the University of Alabama. He is batting .313/.448/.687, and already has nine home runs in 105 plate appearances. He has also gone a perfect 20-for-20 in stolen base attempts. Lebron has only struck out 16.2% of the time, and has drawn nearly as many walks, with a 14.3% BB% throughout his early season sample size.
Lebron is a potential five-tool player. He can hit for power, run well, has a strong arm, and is a good defender. He should be able to stay at shortstop for the long run. His hit tool however is the biggest question. Last year, he struck out nearly a quarter of the time with a 24.2% K%. Lebron needs to improve his swing selection, and will need to make more contact. However, drawing more walks than strikeouts is a step in the right direction.
As stated before, there is still a bunch of college and high school baseball left to play. Some of these prospects may fall in stock, others may rise, and start appearing as a potential top five draft pick. However, as things stand right now, the Pirates should have all of these players on their radar, even if the draft isn’t months out.
