In the world of Major League Baseball, there is a term to describe an absolutely gifted talent. That term is a five-tool player. To be a five-tool player, you must possess all five of the different skills or abilities that make up a baseball player. The skills or tools are the ability to hit for average, as well as for power, the possession of speed, and a lockdown defender who also possesses a plus rocket of an arm. Those five tools all in one player make for a legendary and valuable weapon and talent in the game. There are some players who own many of the tools necessary. However, many more players do not. Thus, for this article, we will create a five-tool mega player using different members of the Pittsburgh Pirates roster.

CONTACT TOOL: RYAN O’HEARN

The contact tool in today’s game is something that is often overlooked in favor of home runs. However, the players that are finding a high level of success in 2026 are doing so by putting the ball in play. Ryan O’Hearn is one such player for the 2026 Pittsburgh Pirates. At the time of this writing, O’Hearn has a Pirates best batting average of .315. Ryan’s average has him tied for the 5th best mark in the entire National League. So it’s easy to name him the contact tool for the 2026 Pirates.

POWER TOOL: PAUL SKENES

There was originally a different direction that we were going to go with the power tool by using prolific power hitter Marcell Ozuna. However, when you think about power on the Pittsburgh Pirates there’s very little question that there are few arms powerful enough to dominate like that of Paul Skenes. And while it may not exactly be the first thought of how you’d define the “power tool” there’s little debate against Skenes for this particular skillset if you widen the parameters of your mind on the tool.

SPEED TOOL: KONNOR GRIFFIN

Rookie phenom Konnor Griffin is amongst the faster players in Major League Baseball. And that makes choosing him as the Pirates’ speed tool is quite an easy selection. But it goes beyond his mere Sprint Speed StatCast metric, it’s also about his speed allowing him to get to balls defensively that other don’t have the ability to even get to in the field. Griffin is baseball’s best prospect and will bring Buccos’ fans enjoyment for years to come and part of that enjoyment will be what he does with his legs.

DEFENSE TOOL: NICK GONZALES

One of baseball’s more underrated defenders is Nick Gonzales. The Pirates’ super utility player has the ability to play multiple spots for Pittsburgh. And no matter where they play him in the field, Gonzales provides the Pirates with a plus fielder capable of making not just the routine plays but also the difficult plays look routine. Naming Gonzales the defensive tool was the obvious choice for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

ARM TOOL: ONEIL CRUZ

Oneil Cruz is the arm tool, plain and simple. PERIOD! There are few players that even come close to the absolute cannon of a right arm that’s possessed by the Pirates center fielder. While his defense leaves quite a lot to be desired, it’s not for lack of what his arm has the capabilities of doing to help him and the Buccos. Just take a look at this chart below of the StatCast “Arm Strength” (since 2020) and it will tell you just how easily the decision to name Oneil Cruz the arm tool was actually was for the Pittsburgh Pirates.