Earlier this week, ESPN published their way-too-early MLB power rankings for next season, and you might be suprised where they have your Pittsburgh Pirates ranked. The Bucs are coming in at number nine! Here’s what ESPN has to say about your Battlin’ Buccos:
2026 record: 82-80
Final 2026 ranking: 13Key free agents: Brandon Lowe, Gregory Soto
Potential 2027 impact rookies: RHP Seth Hernandez
One of the most shocking results of 2026 was the Pirates finishing sixth in the majors in runs scored after ranking
last in 2025. That helped lead to an 11-win improvement, and while you might normally pencil in regression, that won’t necessarily be the case. Konnor Griffin has the tools to explode in his sophomore season while Esmerlyn Valdez slugged .510 with 17 home runs in half a season. Bringing Lowe back after he hit 35 home runs is a big key, and he should be in the Pirates’ range to re-sign.
Then there’s this: There is every reason to believe the rotation will be better, from Paul Skenes to Bubba Chandler to Jared Jones to Hernandez debuting at some point. The defense wasn’t good and the bullpen needs help, but the Pirates have every reason to believe they can reach the postseason for the first time since 2015.
As you can see, there is a legitimate path to contention for the Pirates. Get the expected performance from the rotation, re-sign Brandon Lowe, get improvements from the young bats. If each of those three things happen, we could finally have a long-awaited return to the postseason for the Buccos. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There’s still work to be done this offseason. But for the first time in a long time, there is optimism not just in the Pirates fan base, but across the MLB at large.
