Wyatt Sanford hammered the second pitch of the game on Oct. 23 to deep center field, quickly breaking into a celebratory trot. The ball traveled 454 feet for a no-doubt home run. It was the peak of what the Pirates' No. 5 prospect has turned into an impressive October.
Sanford, Pittsburgh’s top-ranked player in the Arizona Fall League, is batting .275 with an .814 OPS. He’s one of nine Pittsburgh prospects helping to fill out the Glendale Desert Dogs roster, and after missing most of June and July with a broken hand, Sanford has picked up where he left off with his early power surge.
COMPLETE PIRATES PROSPECT COVERAGE
The Desert Dogs are unfortunately the league’s worst team with a 6-14 record through games played on Wednesday. Sanford is playing nearly every day at shortstop, a position he continues to thrive at since his second-round selection in 2024. With the bat coming along, Sanford is quickly making a name for himself.
After all, a 454-foot shot is hard to ignore.
Let's take a look at some other notable Pirates prospects playing in the desert:
C Easton Carmichael (Pirates' No. 8 prospect)
Carmichael impressed both offensively and behind the plate in his first full professional season while moving up to Double-A Altoona. He finished with 20 homers in 111 games between High-A Greensboro and Altoona. He hasn’t quite hit his stride yet for Glendale, going just 3-for-30 (.100) with eight strikeouts and three walks.
The catcher is sharing time with Anson Aroz of the Dodgers and Grant Magill of the White Sox, with fellow Pirates catcher Luke Scherrer also entering the fold as of Monday.
INF/OF Jhonny Severino (No. 28 prospect)
Severino spent all 113 games in 2026 with High-A Greensboro, batting .256 with 31 home runs while splitting time between left field, third base and first base. He is working mostly at third base in the AFL, where he has one home run and 10 walks while batting .209 with a .358 on-base percentage.
The soon-to-be 22-year-old was acquired from the Brewers at the 2023 Trade Deadline for Carlos Santana.
RHP Bryan Mena
Mena has performed best of all Pirates pitchers in the desert, throwing 7 2/3 scoreless innings to this point. He was acquired last offseason in the Rule 5 Draft from the Rockies, then spent all season with High-A Greensboro before spending the final month of the season on the injured list.
The right-hander has excelled in the AFL by limiting any damage. He's worked around nine hits and three walks to keep the opposition off the board. Mena has appeared out of the bullpen once but also served as an opener twice, throwing 36 and 41 pitches, respectively.
RHP Brandon Cain
Cain, the nephew of two-time All-Star Lorenzo Cain, moved between Single-A Bradenton and High-A Greensboro over his 54 innings in 2026. With Glendale, Cain has a 7.11 ERA in 6 1/3 innings, allowing a .308 opponents' batting average.
The 22-year-old was a 19th-round pick out of Oklahoma in the 2025 Draft after stints at both Coastal Alabama Community College-Monroeville and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
RHP Michael Walsh
Walsh turns 26 in January, and after an injury-riddled 2026, the AFL presented an opportunity to finish strong. After five games and 6 2/3 innings, Walsh has a 6.75 ERA while walking five and striking out four.
He touched Triple-A Indianapolis for the first time in 2026, but for only two games in the middle of the summer before another injury sidelined him. A ninth-round selection in the 2022 Draft has pitched largely out of the bullpen.
RHP Zander Mueth
Mueth remains a piece with plenty of potential, with a 6-foot-6 frame and a unique release point. The attributes haven’t brought much success in the AFL so far, as he's allowed nine runs in four innings.
His numbers are a bit inflated from a couple of tough outings, but Mueth did post three scoreless outings while taking on a "closer’s mentality." His 10 walks in just four walks haven't helped much.
Tortosa is in a different position than most AFL participants, as he's a southpaw set to turn 28 years old on Saturday. He signed a Minor League contract with the Pirates in June and pitched 49 2/3 innings.
The La Victoria, Venezuela, native has allowed 11 earned runs in five innings, struggling to find the strike zone with eight walks in five innings.
With Carmichael leaving at the end of the week, Scherrer was added to the roster on Monday. He mostly played first base this season, catching only 18 games combined between Bradenton and Greensboro.
Still, Scherrer is listed as a catcher in the AFL.