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Good morning! Take a long-term outlook today. Coming up:
Wait, Them?: The Pirates’ embarrassment of riches
Either the Pirates are on the brink of a major turnaround, or they’re about to suffer a fate only rivaled by the Mike Trout-Shohei Ohtani Angels of 2018 to 2023.
Keith Law’s 2026 MLB farm system rankings arrived yesterday. Pittsburgh is No. 4, up from No. 16 a year ago. The biggest reason is the presence of No. 1 prospect Konnor Griffin.
The 19-year-old was a first-round pick in 2024 and spent last year making a mockery of the low minors and Double A, putting up a combined .941 OPS while playing a solid shortstop.
He’s a complete toolshed, elite in every possible way. As we mentioned earlier this week, Keith calls Griffin “the most exciting prospect we’ve had in the minors since Mike Trout” and predicts he’ll be “one of the best players in baseball once he gets established.”
With Griffin leading the Pirates’ system, Keith thinks the team’s prospect group has a “Sistine Chapel kind of ceiling.”
The Pirates also already have 23-year-old Paul Skenes dealing as the reigning NL Cy Young winner. If Griffin is the burgeoning superstar he looks like, it should be very hard for the Pirates to continue to stink. Teams with two mega-elite players just do not finish below .500 all that often, as Baseball America found in November.
That’s my rational brain. But for sad and indefensible reasons, I am a Pirates fan. That means I have a strong idea of another way this could go. Perhaps that iconic 2021 ‘Tungsten Arm’ O’Doyle tweet about the Angels will soon need a rewrite.
The Bucs have had a solid offseason in a vacuum, trading for Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe and giving a big-by-their-standards contract to free-agent first baseman Ryan O’Hearn. The lineup looks better than the awful 2025 group that only outhit the 43-win Rockies. The team still isn’t really spending, though, with a 2026 payroll that’s currently slated to be around the same $105 million that placed 27th in the league last year. The Pirates have a couple of obvious roster holes. With Skenes on the roster and Griffin close — and neither of them making real money this year — it would be malpractice not to invest.
For now, betting markets expect Pittsburgh to win 76 or 77 games, which wouldn’t be better than third in the NL Central. Griffin could start the year in majors, but as Keith told the “Rates & Barrels” crew this week, it’d be awfully risky to skip him past Triple A.
Please, please, please let this young man play in meaningful late-season games once he arrives. It’s hard to break Pirates fans at this point, but a Trout-Ohtani sequel might do it.
Speaking of which: The Angels are 29th in the farm system ranking. It’s not possible for me to feel bad for fans of other big-league franchises, but Angels fans might deserve an exception. The other Los Angeles-area team is ranked second, of course. Let’s move on.
News to Know
Koepka makes uneventful return to PGA Tour
Brooks Koepka got a warm reception at Torrey Pines’ South Course as he made his first start on the PGA Tour since 2022. The five-time major winner dealt with an unruly driver and carded a 1-over-par 73 and ended the day in a tie for 101st. (He should make more birdies today, as he moves to Torrey’s more inviting North Course.) Koepka’s return was deflating for LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed alternative that has struggled to build and keep momentum. On the other hand, it was a boon for the PGA Tour’s new commissioner. More on that here.
Allen reveals he underwent foot surgery
Josh Allen walked into yesterday’s introductory news conference for new Buffalo coach Joe Brady with a boot on his right foot and told reporters that doctors had diagnosed a “little broken bone” and “cleaned it up.” It was an old injury, Allen said, which he reaggravated in Week 16. It doesn’t sound like a long-term problem. Meanwhile, Brady (until recently the offensive coordinator) and GM Brandon Beane talked up their “alignment.”
More news:
Olympic sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was arrested in Florida and charged with dangerous excessive speeding. Police said they clocked the 25-year-old driving more than 104 mph. More here.
The Falcons hired Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham to be their GM. He’ll work under new president of football Matt Ryan.
The Eagles hired 33-year-old former QB Sean Mannion as offensive coordinator. He’s just two years removed from his own playing career.
Crystal Dunn, a versatile contributor to the USWNT and a World Cup winner, retired from soccer at 33.
Gymnast Jordan Chiles got closer to getting back her 2024 Olympic bronze medal, successfully appealing to the highest court in Switzerland for a fresh hearing with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The full report will refresh your memory on this.
Red Wings star Patrick Kane set a record for American-born NHL players by recording his 1,375th point. He joined the 500-goal club a few weeks ago, too.
Great trivia answer here: January 2026 has now seen more hat tricks than any month in NHL history. Last night, the Sabres’ Alex Tuch made it 30 for the month.
Watch Guide
📺 NCAAM: No. 3 Michigan at No. 7 Michigan State
8 p.m. ET on Fox
A rivalry in its peak form. The Wolverines have one loss, by 3 points, three weeks ago. The Spartans’ last loss was on Jan. 2 against a Nebraska team whose only defeat came at the hands of — you guessed it — Michigan, this past Tuesday.
📺 NBA: Pistons at Warriors
10 p.m. ET on ESPN
Detroit is en route to the East’s No. 1 seed thanks to a nightmarish defense. Golden State, meanwhile, is not in a great place. Challenging times for that front office with the trade deadline looming on Feb. 5.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Pulse Picks
Nick Baumgardner and Scott Dochterman went two rounds deep for our latest NFL mock draft, working their way through some uncertainty among the top picks. What will the Jets do?
Was that messy Bills news conference after firing Sean McDermott really a “disaster”? A former owner and GM weigh in.
The upper echelon of men’s college basketball is deep this year, making CJ Moore’s midseason contender tiers all the more interesting.
After winning just two medals at the Beijing Olympics four years ago, Team Great Britain is going to Italy optimistic that this could be its best-ever Winter Games.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The anonymous NFL player poll.
Most-read on the website yesterday: Dan Pompei’s excellent piece on Charles Tillman and his time in the FBI.
📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.
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