Pirates Wrap Up 2026 Draft With Pitchers and Prep Players
The Pirates drafted three players from the prep ranks in rounds 11-20, while loading up on college pitching.
The Pittsburgh Pirates wrapped up the 2026 MLB Draft on Sunday, taking eight pitchers in their final ten picks on Day Two. They also added a few prep options that stood out as potential over-slot picks.
For a recap of every pick the Pirates made in rounds 11-20, check out the profiles below. You can also click the following links to read about the top ten round selections.
The Pirates Returned to a Draft Approach That Wasn’t Working
Pirates Go Pitching Heavy to Start Day Two of the 2026 MLB Draft
11th Round, 318th Overall: Spencer Evans, LHP
Evans was the third prep player the Pirates selected in this draft, and taken in a round that is typically used for over-slot picks. The 6’ 3”, 190 pound lefty was the 195th best prospect in MLB Pipeline’s rankings. He throws a 55 FV fastbal, which can touch 95-96 MPH. He pairs that with a projected 50-grade slider, 50-grade changeup, and 40-grade control. The slider sits low-80s and misses bats, while he’s shown improvements with the mid-80s changeup.
Evans offers a combination of size (6-foot-3), projection and arm strength. Combine that with the fact that he’s left-handed, and that’s sure to intrigue teams. At times, he can look like a first-round caliber talent, with a fastball routinely up to 95-96 mph and flashing two above-average secondary offerings. He’s added velocity to what is now a low-80s slider and can miss a lot of bats with it, throwing the breaker with good angles. His mid-80s changeup continues to improve.
As good as that package sounds, Evans is often stuff over performance, with his command and control the biggest culprit in keeping him ineffective. He’s prone to walks and comes with a little left-handed reliever risk, but he’s athletic and moves easily on the mound. A team that sees enough future starter in him could try to sign him away from his commitment to Louisiana State.
Evans has a commitment to LSU. He’d be a project for the Pirates, with the need to work on his control to improve the odds of remaining in the rotation. He looks like a pure development case, with better stuff than most prep pitchers, but more work to refine his arsenal. He’s got the makings of three average-or-better pitches, with good velocity from the left side. If the Pirates saved some money in the top ten rounds, they could have enough to lure Evans away from his college commitment.
12th Round, 348th Overall: Rohan Lettow, RHP
The 6’ 3”, 190 pound Lettow was drafted out of San Diego State, where he transferred in 2026 after spending the previous two seasons with Arizona State. Lettow also made the move to the rotation, with a 3.79 ERA in 78.1 innings. He had 92 strikeouts and 27 walks. His time with Arizona State led to 10.1 combined innings with poor overall results.
Things started to click for him in the New England College Baseball League last summer. He had a 1.72 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 16.2 innings. Lettow made an early impression with San Diego State in the fall, with a fastball that sat 93 MPH, a mid-80s changeup, an 87 MPH cutter, an 80 MPH sweeper, and a 78 MPH curveball. He also had a 37% whiff rate, with good chase ability.
Lettow doesn’t have a long track record of success as a starter. He does seem like a guy who has suddenly found an approach that works. This includes a five pitch mix, an ability to get swing and miss, and the potential for at least an average fastball with further development.
The Pirates have done a good job so far of finding college arms without a lot of wear and tear, giving them older development projects that could have upside with more experience on the mound. Lettow is a great example of this trend.
13th Round, 378th Overall: Griffin Stieg, RHP
Stieg was drafted in the 18th round last year by the Mariners, but opted to return to Virginia Tech. He’s a senior, but missed the 2025 season with Tommy John surgery, and would have one more year of eligibility. Steig returned to the mound in 2026, with a 7.46 ERA in 66.1 innings. He struck out 52 and walked 33.
It’s not a surprise for a pitcher to struggle coming off Tommy John. The Pirates probably liked the stuff more than the results. Stieg sat 93-95 MPH, touching 97 with a two-seam fastball. He also throws a low-80s slider and a low-80s changeup. He’s got three pitches that could grade out as average, along with above-average control.
He played football and basketball in high school, and his pitching career has been staggered due to the injuries. He bet on himself last year, returning to Virginia Tech to pitch after his injury. That paid off with a slight bump in his draft stock. The question is whether he decides to return for his senior year, versus going pro and working toward refining his stuff after injury in pursuit of a professional career.
14th Round, 408th Overall: Damarcus Rideout-Carter, RHP
The Pirates went with another prep right-hander when they drafted Rideout-Carter in the 14th round. He’s from Canada and doesn’t have a listed commitment to any college. The 6’ 3”, 175 pound right-hander can hit 95 MPH with his fastball, but mostly sits upper 80s to low 90s. He throws a slider around 80 MPH that could grade above-average, along with a mid-80s changeup.
Rideout-Carter pitched in the MLB Draft League this year, throwing 4.2 innings with eight earned runs. He walked nine and struck out six. The Pirates are likely looking at him for the projectable frame and the hopes to develop the young pitcher’s fastball velocity. He doesn’t seem like he’d be difficult to sign compared to most prep players, but he’s also much more raw and would require more development work.
15th Round, 438th Overall: Liam O’Leary, RHP
O’Leary spent two seasons pitching in the JuCo ranks before transferring to St. John’s for his junior year. In 108.2 innings, he had a 3.64 ERA, 78 strikeouts, and 32 walks. He struck out 121 batters in 83 innings during his sophomore season at Lackawanna Community College, and had a 3.30 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 43.2 innings his freshman year at Montgomery County CC.
O’Leary isn’t like other pitchers the Pirates have taken, where he lacks innings and experience. His drawback is lacking innings against a higher level of competition. He’s done well in the limited experience he’s received. The Pirates would be getting a college arm for the lower levels who has swing and miss ability, and who has shown success everywhere he’s gone so far.
16th Round, 468th Overall: Grant Govel, RHP
Govel, a draft-eligible sophomore, was one of the better college pitchers remaining on the board when the Pirates made their pick. Ranked 216th by MLB Pipeline, Govel has missed some time in college, which gives him extra eligibility. He was a redshirt in 2024, after undergoing Tommy John.
Govel pitched out of the bullpen in 2025, with a 7.45 ERA in 48.1 innings. He improved this year in a move to the rotation, putting up a 2.87 ERA in 103.1 innings, with 99 strikeouts and 16 walks.
His fastball grades as fringe-average, and he has a slider and curveball that both grade as average. The changeup is the standout pitch, grading as a plus offering. He also throws a fringe-average cutter. His control is plus.
A strong 6-foot, 200-pound right-hander, Govel might attack hitters with as many as six pitches. He has both a four-seam and newer two-seam fastball that typically sit around 91-92 mph, though he has topped out at 95. He has consistently shown consistent 94-95 mph heaters early in the spring, with 20-21 inches of induced vertical break on the four-seamer. His best secondary offering is a plus low-80s changeup he sells extremely well with arm speed that kills spin and has excellent depth at the plate, a combo he’ll throw to hitters on both sides. He has both a low-80s slider and an upper-70s bigger top-down curve, and a cutter that flashes average that he can get up to 90 mph.
Govel delivers all of his offerings with a quick arm and a simple and repeatable stretch-only delivery. That leads to very good fastball command and excellent overall control that limits walks. His ceiling might be a bit limited, but his repertoire and feel to pitch could help him get to the big leagues as a back-end starter.
Govel has a lot of pitches to work with, and experience with a 100+ inning workload. He might be best long-term as a reliever, where his velocity can play up in shorter outings. The Pirates shouldn’t immediately put him in that role, as his control and pitch mix give him a good chance to develop as a starter, especially if his velocity can increase.
17th Round, 498th Overall: Nathan Helman, RHP
Helman pitched the last two years at Kennesaw State, and was drafted as a redshirt junior. Prior to joining Kennesaw, he pitched at the JuCo level. The 6’ 4”, 200 pound right-hander spent most of the last two years in the bullpen.
He combined for a 6.62 ERA in 51.2 innings, with 63 strikeouts and 29 walks. He had better results last year in the California Collegiate League, where he had a 1.64 ERA in 11 innings, with a 21:6 K/BB. At every level, he’s missed bats, but control has been an issue. He should help fill out the lower levels of the system with swing and miss potential out of the bullpen.
18th Round, 528th Overall: Malachi Washington, OF
Washington was only the second prep hitter taken by the Pirates in this draft, and the first position player since the 9th round. He was also one of the best available names on the board, ranking 118th in MLB Pipeline’s rankings.
The prep outfielder from Georgia has a fringe-average hit tool, but his other tools are above-average across the board. He grades as a 55 in power, run, arm, field, and has a current projection as a 45 FV overall player.
This wasn’t just Pipeline’s ratings. Washington was 85th in ESPN’s rankings, 115th for Baseball America, and 70th in the FanGraphs ratings. His Pitch Selection grade at FanGraphs is 40. That’s a metric I like to indicate the ease in which a player can maximize his hit and power tools. FanGraphs confirmed the lower hit tool grade, while having average-to-plus grades for power, speed, and fielding.
Washington is solidly built at 6-foot-1 and 203 pounds with strong hands and wrists. He has a quick right-handed swing and generates impressive exit velocities, but he also gets overly aggressive at the plate and can struggle against breaking balls. He shows the ability to drive the ball to all fields yet makes more groundball contact than is desired.
Washington’s speed and arm strength both earn solid to plus grades. The Louisiana State recruit has a good chance to remain in center field in college or pro ball, and his arm and power would fit the right-field profile if he has to shift to a corner. He earns praise for his work ethic as well as his tools.
Wasington comes from the same high school program that produced Jeff Francouer, Jeff Keppinger, and Matt Olson. He’s got a commitment to LSU. In my day one write-up, I noted the Pirates had reverted to their old approach of taking safer bats with higher hit grades, while sacrificing power. This pick seems to be the opposite. It’s the type of pick that worked the last two years, taking the power and hoping to develop the hit tool.
The Pirates might have a difficult time signing Washington, but he’d be one of the best candidates for over-slot money in the draft with his upside.
19th Round, 558th Overall: Andrew Duncan, OF
Duncan was drafted out of Wright State, where he played after transferring from Florida State. His career started at FSU in 2024, only getting seven plate appearances. He transferred to the JuCo ranks, then joined Wright State this year, where he hit .367/.436/.577 in 243 plate appearances. He also hit six homers and stole 19 bases.
The next move for Duncan is a transfer to Tennessee, unless he ends up signing with the Pirates. The outfielder finally got playing time in Division I ball, and could get a higher profile look with Tennessee as their starting center fielder in 2027. He would be a draft-eligible senior, but also would have a year to improve his draft stock.
The Pirates could be getting a player who has seen limited time to show what he can do on the field against advanced competition. The options for Duncan also mean the Pirates might not have an easy time signing him compared to most college picks.
20th Round, 588th Overall: Dakota Stone, LHP
Stone, a college senior, has pitched all over Florida in his four-year career. His first two seasons came with Jacksonville, where he only combined for 37 innings, missing most of the 2024 season with an injury. He returned in 2025 for 2.1 innings across four appearances, after transferring to UCF.
This past year, he moved to North Florida, where he had the best results of his career. Stone worked as a starter, with a 2.85 ERA in 79 innings. He struck out 102 and walked 39. The control problems were an issue, but not as bad as his double-digit BB/9 rates in previous years.
Stone got his fastball up to 96 MPH pitching in the MLB Draft League last summer, and will enter pro ball with an ability to get swing and miss, and a chance to get innings as part of the lower level pitching staffs.
The Pirates Prospects Draft Pick Signing Tracker is updated with every pick in the 2026 draft. Analysis from earlier rounds in the draft can be found in the articles below:
The Pirates Returned to a Draft Approach That Wasn’t Working
Pirates Go Pitching Heavy to Start Day Two of the 2026 MLB Draft
The full 2026 recap will be posted tomorrow…
-Tim Williams