'Finding a happy medium': Pirates prospect Sanford using Fall League to become a more complete hitter

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- If things continue to develop as planned, the Pirates will have to decide which best friend will be their big league shortstop. Konnor Griffin might have the gig now, but his buddy Wyatt Sanford isn’t that far off from trying to lay claim to the premium position in Pittsburgh.

“He was my first roommate in pro ball when we were both drafted,” Sanford said. “Seeing what he’s done throughout his career so far is just truly amazing and truly incredible, and I'm very happy for him. I think the big piece I take away from him is how he handles himself off the field.

“It reminds me at the end of the day that teammates remember how good of a dude you are, and it just allows me to realize ... 0-for-4, 4-for-4, just be the same guy, you know, be the same guy that shows up in the locker room every day, excited to come to work and excited to play.”

So maybe there won’t be a friend rift when Sanford is ready -- he has played some second base just in case -- and he’s still a couple of rungs behind his Draft mate. Taken a round after Griffin in 2024, injuries have slowed Sanford’s progress some. The Pirates’ No. 5 prospect missed time with a groin injury in 2025, then spent the offseason working on conditioning to avoid muscle-related issues like that. 

Sanford did that in 2026, but was limited to just 77 games after suffering a broken hand when he was hit by a pitch. That’s one of the big reasons he’s playing for the Glendale Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League, to make up for lost reps on both sides of the ball.

“That was pretty brutal,” Sanford said. “The offseason focus was making sure none of the muscle stuff happens during the season, never would I have thought that I'd be getting hit in the hand and missing two months, but here we are.

“It's funny, every year for Spring Training, we get a hand guard and I was always like, ‘Man, I never need that.’ And of course now, for the rest of my career, I'll be wearing one.”

While the 20-year-old wouldn’t have been on the Griffin express to Pittsburgh, he almost certainly would have made it to Double-A this year. Coming out of high school with a reputation as a contact-first hitter, Sanford’s offseason work to add strength showed up and then some, with 10 homers over the first two months before the injury.

“And just a lot of eating in the offseason, that's been a big help too, so definitely going to do that again this offseason,” Sanford said with a smile. “I don't think I was expecting that at all. I think the first day of Spring Training, the first day we took BP, it just felt a little bit different off the bat, a little bit different sound, and it kind of just gave me a really good feeling of what's to come. I've always been a contact-over-power hitter and so to see the power really come this year was really good to see, and it was really fun to go out there and play with that extra tool.”

That new extra tool did come with extra swing-and-miss, however. Sanford admits the excitement of being able to impact the baseball led to some poor swing decisions and a 32.5 percent strikeout rate in April and May. He hit nine more homers over August and September when he got back with High-A Greensboro, but started to figure out how to get to that pop without selling out too much for it, cutting the K rate to 28.7 percent during that stretch.

“That is very important, and I think that's one of the biggest things I'm working on when I'm down here, just refining that approach and getting back to the approach I had when I was a contact-over-power guy,” Sanford said. “Before I got hurt, I was  trying to find the groove of finding a happy medium. I’m working on that when I'm down here and just making sure I'm a complete hitter.”

Pirates hitters in the Fall League

Easton Carmichael, C (No. 8): Carmichael was a Cape Cod League All-Star in 2024, then parlayed a strong junior season at Oklahoma into being the third college backstop to be drafted, going in the third round in 2025. He turned in a very solid first full season, making it to Double-A and hitting a combined 20 homers with 92 RBIs and an OPS of .825 while playing solid all-around defense behind the dish.

Jhonny Severino, 3B/OF (No. 28): The Pirates got Severino from the Brewers at the 2023 Trade Deadline for Carlos Santana, and after a decent organizational debut in which he reached full-season ball for the first time, Severino really struggled in 2025 back with Single-A Bradenton. He still needs to work on his approach (105/33 K/BB ratio in 2026), but he finished second in the organization with 31 homers, taking advantage of a hitting-friendly home park in High-A Greensboro (.565 SLG vs. .484 on the road).

Pirates pitchers in the Fall League

Brandon Cain, RHP: The nephew of former big league outfielder Lorenzo Cain, Brandon spent two years in community college and then one at Oklahoma, where he played sparingly. A former outfielder who has converted to the mound, he threw well enough in the Draft League in 2025 for the Pirates to take him in the 19th round that summer. The right-hander is still figuring things out on the mound, but features arm strength (fastball up to 97 mph) and a decent changeup (43 percent miss rate across two levels of A ball in 2026).

Bryan Mena, RHP: The Pirates nabbed Mena in the Minor League phase of last year’s Rule 5 Draft and he spent the year pitching for High-A Greensboro. The brother of D-backs right-hander Cristian Mena (AZ No. 26), Bryan has the chance to develop into a workhorse with a solid sinker (1.37 GO/AO in 2026) while still learning to round out his repertoire, and he did miss some bats with both a curve and slider.

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Zander Mueth, RHP: Mueth had a promising first full season of pro ball in 2024 after the Pirates went over slot to sign the Illinois prep standout for $1.8 million in the 2023 Draft. It’s been rough sledding since and he’s yet to get past Single-A Bradenton. He has size (6-foot-6) and electric raw stuff, but he gets hit too much and hasn’t thrown enough strikes. He’s pitching out of the bullpen this fall, with the Pirates hoping he can simply let his stuff play in shorter stints.

Cristhian Tortosa, LHP: Tortosa entered pro ball back in July 2015 when he signed with the Tigers for $30,000. He signed with the Phillies as a Minor League free agent in 2025, then with the Pirates this June after Philadelphia released him. Pittsburgh worked with the 6-foot-4 lefty to change his pitch shapes and that led to a strikeout rate of better than 30 percent, particularly missing bats with his low-80s slider. But he needs a lot of work on his command (7.1 BB/9).

Michael Walsh, RHP: A ninth-round pick out of Yale in 2022, Walsh had trouble staying healthy at the upper levels of the Pirates’ system in 2026. He’s a spin monster with a low-80s slider that elicited a 47 percent miss rate this past year, according to Synergy. The Pirates think he can use the Fall League to make up for some lost innings and get him ready for Triple-A in 2027, with a chance at carving out a big league career as a slider-heavy reliever.