Aiden Ruiz of The Stony Brook School thrilled to be selected by Pirates in second round of MLB Draft

Aiden Ruiz has always been patient. After all, he drew 21 walks and posted a .547 on-base percentage in 24 games out of the leadoff spot for The Stony Brook School this past spring. However, Day 1 of the 2026 MLB Draft tested that patience in a different way.

The 19-year-old, switch-hitting shortstop from Woodhaven, Queens fell to the second round of the 2026 MLB Draft, where he was selected 44th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. The pick’s slot value is worth approximately $2.28 million.

Ruiz was projected by both MLB.com and Baseball America to be a first-round pick. Each outlet predicted he would go 22nd overall to the Detroit Tigers in their respective final mock drafts. Both outlets also ranked him as the 32nd best overall draft prospect.

That wound up not happening, but that does not matter to him.

“We all thought it was going to be a little earlier, but it worked out for the best,” Ruiz told Newsday. “I landed where God wanted me to land. Any team that passed up on me was not where I was supposed to go.”

Ruiz, a Queens native, played four years of varsity baseball at The Stony Brook School — a Christian prep school in Stony Brook. He was the first player with a Long Island connection to be drafted this year.

He confirmed he will sign with the Pirates and forgo his commitment to play at Vanderbilt.

“It’s everything I dreamed of; everything I thought it would be,” Ruiz said. “It just meant the most having my family and friends by my side through it all . . . I’m already ready to compete and bring winning into the Pirates’ organization.”

Another Long Islander will join Ruiz in the Pirates’ system, as they drafted University of North Carolina righthander Jason DeCaro 80th overall with their third-round pick. DeCaro hails from East Northport and went to St. Anthony’s.

“Just knowing that I worked for this; it feels better when you work harder,” DeCaro said. “Knowing that is a little more gratifying, but I also know that it doesn’t stop now, and I’ve got to work harder now more than ever.”

Between Ruiz and DeCaro’s selections, the St. Louis Cardinals drafted West Virginia University righthander Dawson Montesa in the third round, 72nd overall. He averaged 10.8 strikeouts and 7.7 hits allowed per nine innings across 77 innings pitched for West Virginia as a junior in 2026.

Montesa, 20, from Glendale, Queens. spent the first two years of his college career at Division II Adelphi. As a Panther, he struck out 155 batters in 116 1/3 innings.

“Adelphi was the spot that didn’t overlook me, so going there to get my foot in the door of college baseball was a huge step,” Montesa said. “I definitely wouldn’t be here (without them), because I don’t think I’d be playing college baseball anymore. It was Adelphi or nowhere, so them giving me a shot kickstarted this whole journey.”

To end Long Island’s Day 1, the San Francisco Giants grabbed Hofstra righthander Carlos Martinez in the fourth round, 118th overall. He confirmed to Newsday that he will sign.

While recovering from Tommy John Surgery in 2025, the 21-year-old from College Point, Queens set a goal to be drafted, which has now been accomplished.

“I told myself, you need to work as hard as humanly possible to get back to where I need to be,” Martinez said. “I know what I’m capable of, and I just needed to believe and trust everything that I’d been doing . . . It’s an exciting feeling, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity.”