LSU Baseball: Surprise! Derek Curiel Goes 5th In 1st Round To Pirates – Was Projected As 10th Or Later

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

The Pittsburgh Pirates jumped on LSU sophomore center fielder Derek Curiel with the fifth pick of the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft on Saturday afternoon, even though Curiel had been projected to go closer to the 10th to 15th rounds.

“First semi surprise of this draft,” a Major League Baseball Network commentator said just as Curiel was picked.

Curiel is draft-eligible because his birthday of May 24, 2005, fell before the August 1 cut-off date, meaning he could enter the draft as a sophomore. And Curiel needed only two seasons to prove to the Pirates that he was top five pick ready, leding the Tigers in hitting both seasons at .345 in 2025 and .353 in 2026.

LSU Baseball: Derek Curiel, Jake Brown And Deven Sheerin Among Top 145 Prospects For MLB Draft This Weekend

A native of the Los Angeles area who went to Orange Lutheran High, Curiel led the Tigers to the 2025 national championship as a freshman, hitting 20 doubles with seven home runs, two triples and 55 RBIs in 68 starts through 68 games. In 58 starts in 58 games in 2026, Curiel hit 18 doubles with six home runs, two triples and 46 RBIs. He also stole 13 bases in 15 attempts last season.

In two seasons, Curiel made two errors in 229 chances in the outfield. He played left field as a freshman.

“Great pick by the Pirates,” LSU coach Jay Johnson told Tiger Rag Saturday. “He did everything he needed to do at LSU to be a top five overall selection.”

“It’s all I’ve been looking at for the past week – spreadsheets, whiteboards, notebooks.”
-LSU coach Jay Johnson as he tries to keep his No. 2 prep signing class intact.https://t.co/fqiaKLzL8o

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) July 11, 2026

Johnson, who was Arizona’s head coach from 2016-21, has followed Curiel’s career since before Curiel was in high school and has long recruited California, which is Johnson’s native state.

“I am very proud of Derek,” Johnson said.

Curiel is the fourth top five pick of the first round from LSU in the MLB Draft since 2023 with Johnson coaching. Pitcher Paul Skenes was the first pick of the 2023 MLB Draft by Pittsburgh, and center fielder Dylan Crews went as the second pick of the first round to Washington. Last year, left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson went as the third pick to Seattle.

Skenes and Crews were the first No. 1 and 2 picks from the same school in the same draft in MLB Draft history.