Of the very few things Pittsburgh Pirates fans can praise general manager Ben Cherington for, it's drafting. He has drafted many of the Pirates' core pieces, including Paul Skenes , Jared Jones , Nick Gonzales , Carmen Mlodzinski , and Konnor Griffin . However, Cherington has not been anywhere near perfect with his drafting, and the Bucs' 2022 draft class is a perfect example of that.
May 26, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington observes batting practice before the Pirates play the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The Pirates' first-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft was Termarr Johnson . At the time, this looked like a fantastic pick by the Pirates. The infielder was a consensus top-five prospect of his draft class and received high-end praise for his offensive potential. Both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America agreed he was a potential 70-grade hit/60-grade power type batter. Both also gave him comparisons to Hall of Famers. Pipeline said one scout said Johnson showed plate discipline on the level of Wade Boggs , and bat-to-ball skills like Vladimir Guerrero Sr.
BA said Johnson was one of the most advanced high school hitters since Joe Mauer . Even if he had to move to second base long term, the bat looked like a sure bet. Unfortunately, the bat hasn't developed as hoped.
Johnson has hit .239/.372/.382 with a .357 wOBA, and 115 wRC+ throughout his pro career. While he has walked at a strong 16.5% rate, he has also struck out at a 22.6% pace and has a .143 isolated slugging percentage. This year, he owned just a .655 OPS and 82 wRC+ at Triple-A Indianapolis before suffering a torn left ACL and LCL in mid-August .
While Johnson is still only 22, it's not looking like a great first-round pick. The only defensible position in hindsight is that most of the first 15 picks of the draft have not panned out. Zach Neto is the only top-15 pick of the 2022 draft class to develop into a quality MLB player thus far.
The Pirates' next pick after Johnson was first-round competitive balance pick Thomas Harrington . The Bucs drafted the right-handed hurler out of Campbell University with the 36th overall selection. Harrington was still a consensus top-100 prospect after an outstanding start to his pro career. Between 2023 and 2024, Harrington pitched to the tune of a 3.09 ERA,3.57 FIP, and 1.11 WHIP. He struck out over a quarter of opponents with a 26.5% K%, and only walked 6.1% of batters.
The Pirates gave Harrington an opportunity to take a rotation spot in 2025, and while he only pitched 8 2/3 innings, it was a rather poor first impression. He allowed 15 earned runs with seven walks and 18 hits. Harrington also struggled at Triple-A last year, with an ERA and FIP over 5.00 in 96 innings. Harrington had another opportunity to make the team out of spring training , but failed to do so. The right-hander was struggling so badly this year that he was moved to a long-relief/swingman role, but the results aren't much better, with a 5.70 ERA and 4.64 FIP.
Hunter Barco was the Pirates' second-round pick of 2022 out of the University of Florida. Barco showed plenty of promise in 2023 and 2024, but broke out in 2025. In 99 1/3 innings, Barco posted a 2.81 ERA, 3.54 FIP, and a 1.20 WHIP. He did have an 11.8% walk rate, but also struck out 27.8% of opponents. On top of that, he tossed three perfect innings with three strikeouts when the Pirates called him up at the end of the season. MLB Pipeline put him among their top 100 prospects going into 2026.
However, Barco, like Harrington, has failed to capitalize on an opportunity to take over a big-league role. He has allowed 15 earned runs and four home runs, with 13 walks over 17.2 innings pitched. Even his Triple-A numbers are not overly impressive. He has a 4.08 ERA, but his K% has fallen to 22.5%, while his walk rate stays relatively the same at 11.6%.
There's very little chance of holding out for a late-round pick into something noteworthy. Fifth-round pick Tres Gonzalez got off to a strong start to his pro career, but was released last year and has spent 2026 in the independent Atlantic League.
7th-round pick J.P. Massey was one of the Pirates' representatives at the 2023 Futures Game after he started his career hot at A-Ball Bradenton. However, he struggled badly at Greensboro, never made it above High-A, and was released last year. He is also in the Atlantic League.
15th-round pick Josiah Sightler may have had one of the most interesting starts to his pro career ever. A senior signee out of the University of South Carolina, Sightler swatted six home runs, with 33 hits in just 18 games and 80 plate appearances. However, like Massey, he never made it past High-A and retired before the 2025 campaign.
The only good thing so far to come from the Pirates' 2022 draft class is acquiring Spencer Horwitz . One of the main pieces of the trade that landed the Pirates their current first baseman was Michael Kennedy , their fourth-round pick. He is still in the Cleveland Guardians ' system, but does not rank as a top 30 prospect in their organization.
The Pirates' 2022 draft class is looking like Ben Cherington's worst. 2020 netted the Pirates multiple players who are now MLB contributors; 2021 got the Bucs Bubba Chandler ; they took Paul Skenes in 2023, Griffin in 2024, and Seth Hernandez and Murf Gray last year. As of right now, his 2022 picks look mostly like busts.
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Main Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
