The Pittsburgh Pirates have turned to a familiar face to steer their amateur scouting operation into the 2027 MLB Draft.
According to Joe Doyle of Over-Slot, Justin Newman has been named the team’s new director of amateur scouting, putting him in charge of the draft process moving forward. Newman has been with the Pirates for nearly a decade and now steps into a major leadership role after years of working his way through the organization.
The move comes after Justin Horowitz handled the job for the 2024 and 2025 MLB Drafts before leaving after the 2025 season to become an assistant general manager for the Washington Nationals. For the 2026 draft, the Pirates did not have a director of amateur scouting, and assistant general manager Kevan Graves led the scouting process.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said at his year-end press conference that the club would fill the director of amateur scouting role soon, and that Graves would oversee the hiring process. Doyle reported that the Pirates sent out eight interview requests to outside candidates before landing on Newman.
Newman’s rise inside the organization has been steady. He arrived in Pittsburgh in January 2017 as a baseball informatics intern and spent 10 months in that role through October. From there, he moved through a series of analytics positions tied to the amateur draft: quantitative analyst from November 2017 to December 2019, senior quantitative analyst from December 2019 to December 2022, and lead quantitative analyst from December 2022 to November 2024.
Over the past three years, Newman has also held several titles in player development and analysis. He served as manager of research and development from January to November 2024, then head of player analysis from November 2024 to October 2025, and most recently director of player analysis since November 2025.
Doyle also reported that Newman played a major part in building the Pirates’ draft model and helping shape the draft boards the team uses on selection day.
The Pirates have leaned on the draft to stock their system, and recent first-round picks show how central that process has become. Pittsburgh selected starting pitcher Paul Skenes first overall in 2023, shortstop Konnor Griffin ninth overall in 2024 and top pitching prospect Seth Hernandez sixth overall in 2025.
Now Newman gets the next turn at the wheel. For a franchise that treats the draft as one of its biggest team-building tools, it’s a significant promotion - and a clear sign the Pirates are putting a longtime internal voice in charge of a crucial part of their future.
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