Wagyu and alfredo have fueled this prospect's power surge

This story was excerpted from Aiden Stepansky’s Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PITTSBURGH -- Wyatt Sanford sat back at his locker postgame on May 26 as his Greensboro Grasshoppers teammates circled to congratulate him. The 20-year-old out of Frisco, Texas, remembers not even feeling his legs after he crossed the plate and headed back to the dugout yet again.

Sanford completed a feat he’d dreamed of his entire baseball career: The left-handed-hitting shortstop slugged three home runs in one game.

“Definitely surprised myself,” Sanford said in a phone interview with MLB.com. “I’ve always been more of a contact over power guy. Honestly, if you would have told me that I would have had double-digit homers within two months, I would have probably laughed in your face. But here we are.”

Sanford, the Pirates' No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline, is hitting .287 with a .964 OPS in High-A Greensboro. His three-homer game on May 26 proved that Pittsburgh’s 2024 second-round Draft pick continues to see a power surge in his second professional season, already doubling his home run tally from a season ago.

Sanford is two years younger than the average player in the South Atlantic League, yet is in the 96th percentile for top-end exit velocity per Pirates director of coaching and player development Michael Chernow. The increased power isn’t an accident.

After an up-and-down debut professional season, Sanford returned home to Texas looking to become a more durable player after ending the year on the injured list with a quad strain. He increased his lifting schedule from four days a week to five while adding a mobility day.

Maybe more importantly, Sanford enjoyed some home cooking from his mother, Wendy, who served up his favorite meal to help him keep his weight up: Wagyu steak with pasta and alfredo sauce.

Sanford said he never had the “juice” that he desired at the plate to drive the ball out of the yard. Ahead of his senior year at Independence High School (Texas), he put on about 15 pounds by eating as much as he could to the point of making himself sick. Singles and doubles turned into triples and home runs. Sanford used the same thought process this past offseason to take the next step at the professional level.

“I thought his speed would take more on than his power,” Independence head coach Josh Harden said. “But if you look at how small he was as a freshman in high school, and what he did with speed and contact, it just makes sense with his body getting more mature, that the power would come.”

With added muscle, Sanford’s slight swing adjustments have also helped him leave the yard more often. Chernow said the organization hoped to marginally alter where Sanford turns the barrel to increase contact quality. Sanford saw the change similarly, hoping to use more of his athleticism in his stance by narrowing it.

Sanford worked with his father, former Pirates infielder Chance Sanford, daily in the batting cage to make the switch. Sanford credits Chance for navigating the mental side of the game, understanding the grind that comes with the Minor Leagues and daily struggles.

Sanford still has plenty of room to grow. At just 20 years old, he’s recorded a 31.3% strikeout percentage, which ranks second-highest on the Grasshoppers. However, he’s improved as of late, with only four strikeouts in his last eight games. Additionally, Sanford is using the Grasshoppers' hitter-friendly ballpark to his advantage, slugging .649 at home compared to .417 on the road. All 10 of his homers have come off right-handed pitching.

Whether home or away, Sanford works to maintain his strength, a key he says he’s always struggled with, by grabbing an extra meal here and there and hitting the weight room hard on off-days.

“We did feel there was more impact in there, and the way that he showed up demonstrated he's a lot bigger, he's a lot more physical without sacrificing the athleticism,” Chernow said.

Pittsburgh already has a 20-year-old shortstop from the 2024 Draft class slugging in the Major Leagues. That’s Konnor Griffin.

As Sanford continues to develop his power tool, he, too, could be on the way shortly.

“It's just more fun in a way, to go out there and go to the plate with an extra tool in the bag,” Sanford said.