CHICAGO -- Although the Pirates' final three games will be meaningless in the standings, they could be critical in determining the team's draft position next summer.

The Kansas City Royals will have the No. 1 pick because of having clinched the worst record in Major League Baseball at 54-103, but three teams remain in the running for No. 2, depending on which finishes with the lowest winning percentage: The Pirates (65-94) have a .409 percentage, the Colorado Rockies (66-92) have a .418, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (67-91) have a .424.

The prize for finishing second?

It could be significant, or it could be no big deal.

Choices in the high first round often are dictated as much by money matters -- whether a team is able or willing to sign a prospect at his asking price -- as by potential. If the low-spending Royals balk at taking the true top talent, the team picking No. 2 could end up with the best player. Even if the Royals are willing to pay their man, No. 2 could be attractive if the draft class is strong.

That said, the experts' early forecasts are that the draft is weak at the high end. One sign is that no prospect or pack of prospects seem to stand out at this point.

"Not right now," Brian Graham, the Pirates' director of player development, said. "I don't think anybody's going to know who's the best player or players in the country until next year. Everybody has his own favorites, of course, but it might take until April until there's some kind of consensus."

Baseball America's recent prospect rankings for 2006 were topped by one surname that should strike a chord with the Pirates.

The top-rated high school prospect is Kyle Drabek, son of 1990 Cy Young Award winner Doug Drabek, who is a 6-foot-1 right-handed pitcher and wide receiver at The Woodlands High School in Texas. His fastball has been clocked at 92-95 mph, and he is reported to have an electric slider and curveball.

The top-rated college prospect is Andrew Miller, a 6-6 left-hander at the University of North Carolina. He has been clocked as high as 99 mph.

North Side notches

Members of the coaching staff are expecting to learn their fate after the Pirates' season finale Sunday. All are without contracts. General manager Dave Littlefield has said each would be evaluated individually

Shortstop Jack Wilson was held out of the starting lineup yesterday for only the seventh time this season. Interim manager Pete Mackanin said he benched him partly because he was 1 for 22 in his career against the Chicago Cubs' Mark Prior. He added the Pirates wanted to get a glimpse of J.J. Furmaniak at the position.

Mackanin had a scare late Tuesday night when he was stranded alone in a stuck elevator at the team's hotel for roughly a half-hour. It took him 20 minutes to establish contact with anyone. "I was a little panicky there," he said. "It's a bad feeling when you're pushing buttons and nothing happens." Once help arrived, the elevator was moved halfway between floors, and he jumped out.

Outfielder Craig Wilson (knee) and catcher Ryan Doumit (leg) remained out of the lineup but should be able to play in the weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Freddy Sanchez's fourth-inning single extended his hitting streak to 14 games, tying Jason Bay for the longest on the team this season.