Pirates Land Top 5 Pick in MLB Draft Lottery

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Dec 9, 2025
Konnor Griffin, Pittsburgh Pirates, MLB Draft Pirates Draft
A photo of Konnor Griffin is displayed on the video board after Griffin was selected ninth overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round of the MLB baseball draft in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

For the seventh straight year, the Pittsburgh Pirates will have a top 10th pick. The Pirates will be picking fifth overall in the 2026 MLB draft.

It’s the first time the Pirates held the fifth overall pick since 1990, when they took high school right-handed pitcher Kurt Miller.

Entering Tuesday night’s draft lottery, the Pirates had the third-best odds (16.81%) to land the No. 1 pick behind only the Chicago White Sox (27.73%) and Minnesota Twins (22.18%).

The Pirates will have a new voice leading the draft process this season after Justin Horwitz joined the Washington Nationals as an assistant general manager. Horwitz oversaw the last two drafts for Pittsburgh that netted top prospect Konnor Griffin (2024) and prep right-hander Seth Hernandez (2025) in the first round.

UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky is widely considered the top prospect available in the 2026 draft class. Cholowsky was named the National Player of the Year by four outlets during his sophomore year after slashing .353/.480/.710 with 19 doubles, one triple, 23 home runs and 74 RBI.

Here is the order of the top five picks for the 2026 MLB Draft:

  1. Chicago White Sox
  2. Tampa Bay Rays
  3. Minnesota Twins
  4. Kansas City Royals
  5. Pittsburgh Pirates
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David

Great top 5 pick! Let’s get a outfielder!

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DAN

I was really hoping to get a higher pick but we should still get a stud!!!
Hopefully we don’t pick this high again for years!!

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