Where the Pittsburgh Pirates' newest draft picks rank in the system

The Pittsburgh Pirates had one of the best classes of the entire 2024 MLB Draft. This draft cycle netted the Pirates a ton of highly talented prospects. According to MLB’s Jim Callis, they had the second-best draft class of all teams. Baseball America has updated their top prospect lists to include recent draft picks, and now that the Pirates have signed all their top selections, where do those players rank within the system?

Konnor Griffin, in no surprise at all, is ranked as the best of any of the Pirates’ draft picks. Baseball America has him ranked behind Bubba Chandler as their second-best prospect and 82nd overall on their top 100 prospect list update. While Griffin is the only draft pick the Pirates have in the top 100, many of their other selections rank in the newest edition of the team top 30.

Where do Pirates top prospects rank on Baseball America midseason update?

Their second-round pick, Wyatt Sanford, is ranked as the Pirates’ sixth-best prospect, behind Thomas Harrington and ahead of Jack Brannigan. After Sanford, their next highest-ranked prospect on Baseball America’s list from this year’s draft class is right-hander Levi Sterling. The Pirates took Sterling 37th overall with their first-round competitive balance pick. Sterling was considered a top high school pitcher in this year’s draft.

That gives the Pirates three new top 10 prospects to their organization, including one new top 100 prospect, but there are a few more that appear on Baseball America’s top 30 Pirates prospect list. Josh Hartle, a left-hander out of Wake Forest who the Pirates drafted in the third round, is the team's 17th-best prospect, by their measurements. He ranks behind fellow southpaw prospect Hunter Barco.

Last but certainly not least is right-hander Matt Ager. The Pirates took Ager in the sixth round. Baseball America had him ranked as the 104th-best prospect in the draft. He comes in as the Pirates’ 22nd-best prospect. He ranks just ahead of outfielder Matt Gorski, but behind catcher Omar Alfonzo.

Overall, the Pirates added five top prospects to their system. That includes three that landed in the top 10, another in the top 20, and the fifth in the top 25. Even after the trade deadline, the Pirates’ system is still strong, and adding five noteworthy players to their organization from this year’s draft is a good step forward.