It’s never too early to start looking toward next year. Especially with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ offseason officially underway.

Here’s a way-too-early 2027 Opening Day lineup prediction for the Pirates at the end of October. (This lineup prediction assumes Pittsburgh will see a right-hander for the first game of next season and that everyone is healthy for the first game of the season.)

At this point, there’s no reason to believe that Pittsburgh’s starting lineup will look drastically different from the starting nine Don Kelly used for the majority of the 2026 season.

With Pittsburgh’s young core in place, the front office will likely rely on development and growth to lead the charge next season, whether that’s the best game plan or not.

With that in mind, let’s break down this potential starting lineup.

Starting at the top, Konnor Griffin settled in nicely at the top of the lineup as his rookie season carried on. He had a .742 in 112 at-bats batting first, and a .818 in 80 at-bats leading off in an inning in his first big-league season.

From there, Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz are Pittsburgh’s next best hitters and give the Pirates some balance in their lineup, too.

Rafael Flores deserves to be the Opening Day starter after his .858 OPS season, albeit with some questionable defense. Ryan O’Hearn had a solid first season in Pittsburgh and can play first base, right field, and DH as needed.

This is where things get interesting for the Pirates.

For one, the one player not mentioned here, of course, is Brandon Lowe, Pittsburgh’s best player from the 026 season, who is set to hit free agency. The front office has made a lot of surprising news over the last calendar year, but they still haven’t shown the willingness to hand out a long-term contract.

Lowe will be looking for a massive payday after a career year as he enters his age-32 season. With Pittsburgh historically not giving out contracts of this caliber, it’s hard to see it happening until proven otherwise.

If Lowe doesn’t return to Pittsburgh, that opens up several options for the Pirates across the diamond. Nick Gonzales makes the most sense as the starter there. Jared Triolo could be an option, too. Both of these players could also be an option at the hot corner, too.

While this prediction may not be the most exciting in terms of any big offseason moves, it’s certainly realistic, considering how the Pirates have operated over the last decade.