Pirates Prospects Players of the Week 7/12
Connor Wietgrefe allowed one run in 13 innings across two starts. Jhostynxon Garcia's bat has been heating up in Triple-A.
Connor Wietgrefe and Jhostynxon Garcia are the Pirates Prospects players of the week for the week ending July 12th.
Wietgrefe, the Pitcher of the Week, made two starts, including an eight-inning one hit shutout. He combined for one earned run in 13 innings, striking out ten and only allowing six hits. The lefty had a rough first two starts in his jump to Triple-A, but looked much better last week.
The Pirates drafted Wietgrefe in the seventh round in 2024. He’s been one of the better pitching stories this year. After a 3.17 ERA in 108 innings with Greensboro last season, Wietgrefe posted a 3.51 ERA in 66.2 innings for Altoona this year. The Pirates promoted him to Triple-A in mid-June. More performances like last week could get him a call to the Majors over the next year.
Garcia, the Batter of the Week, went 10-for-21 with two doubles, a home run, and two stolen bases. The home run was his sixth of the season for Indianapolis. He’s been on fire lately, batting .485/.595/.667 across his last ten games. He also has an active eight-game hitting streak, showing good all-around hitting during this stretch.
His brief appearance in the Majors didn’t go well, with a .200 average and a .472 OPS in 37 plate appearances. Garcia has been improving his numbers in Triple-A lately, and could be a reliable depth option in the second half if the Pirates keep getting bit by the injury bug.
Individual Level Standouts
Indianapolis swept the weekly awards this time around. Here’s who stood out at the other levels.
Altoona Pitcher: Kyle Robinson
Stats: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 0 HR
Robinson made his second start since being promoted to Altoona, and it was a good one. The right-hander allowed one run in six innings, striking out six. His numbers in Greensboro produced some elevated results due to the home-park factor, but he showed some promise on the road. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does in Altoona the rest of the year.
Altoona Batter: Will Taylor
Stats: 6-for-21, 5 R, 2B, 2 3B, 4 RBI, 2 SB, 3 BB
Taylor reached base safely in all six games last week, while adding two stolen bases. He now has 17 steals on the season, after setting a career high of 23 last year. His power results have dropped in the jump to Double-A, but that wasn’t the case this week. He hit two triples, doubling his career total, while adding a double.
Greensboro Pitcher: Hung-Leng Chang
Stats: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
Chang has split time between the rotation and bullpen in Greensboro this year. He had one of his better outings this past week, allowing one run in six innings. That’s even more impressive when considering the monster offensive numbers that have been put up by both teams the last few weeks.
Greensboro Batter: Sammy Stafura
Stats: 5-for-22, 5 R, 4 HR, 10 RBI, SB, BB
For the second week in a row, Stafura hit a home run in four straight games. His streaks led to eight home runs across a nine game stretch. He only had one other hit this week, but the home runs did some damage. In his last ten games he’s batting .391/.388/.978 with 26 RBIs thanks to those eight home runs. He’s up to 13 homers on the season, with 11 in Greensboro. Not all of those home runs were a result of the offensive environment. A few of them were monster shots that would have been home runs anywhere. Stafura will be an interesting guy to watch the next time Greensboro goes on the road.
Bradenton Pitcher: Reinold Navarro
Stats: 5.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 0 HR
Navarro keeps standing out as the best pitcher in Bradenton, and one of the best in the organization. He struck out eight batters for the third start in a row. In his last ten starts, he has a 1.18 ERA in 38 innings, while striking out 66. Control is a problem, with 32 walks in this span. Navarro is 19-years-old, striking out nearly two batters an inning, with three pitches producing a whiff rate of 40% or higher, and the best fastball in the system. The control is the only thing keeping him from being one of the best prospects in the game.
Bradenton Batter: Richard Ramirez
Stats: 8-for-17, 3 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Ramirez has had a few good weeks in Bradenton, coming up with some clutch hits, while hitting four homers in his last ten games. He hit two last week, along with three doubles. The catcher, who has some of the best defense in the system behind the plate, is batting .372/.400/.767 in his last ten games.
FCL Pirates Pitcher: Tony Gonzalez
Stats: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 0 HR
Gonzalez was moved up from the DSL last month, and made his fourth appearance in the FCL this past week. He threw 2.1 innings and struck out six batters out of the seven outs recorded. The 2025 international signing has some control problems, but has put up a strikeout rate over 32% at both levels this season. In a limited sample in the FCL, his slider is doing the work, generating a 57.1% whiff rate on a small sample of recorded pitches.
FCL Pirates Batter: Francisco Loreto
Stats: 6-for-9, 4 R, 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, SB
Loreto hit two home runs last week, which extends his season total to five, matching last year’s career high. The Pirates got him in a trade in the offseason for Chase Shugart. The 18-year-old catcher is in his second season in the FCL, putting up much better numbers. He’s gone from a .728 OPS to .953, with an increase in power and walks, but also an increase in strikeouts. He has a 1.262 OPS in his last ten games, with four home runs.
DSL Pirates Pitcher: Yhosneiber Torres
Stats: 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
Torres was signed last year, and is in his second season pitching as a starter in the DSL. His numbers have improved from a 6.53 ERA last season to a 3.05 ERA this year. His strikeout rate is the same, and his walks have increased. The improvement for the 17-year-old has come from a lowered average, going from .314 to .192.
DSL Pirates Batter: Wilton Guerrero Jr.
Stats: 9-for-15, 6 R, 2 2B, 5 RBI, 3 SB, 3 BB
The top international signing by the Pirates this year had one of his best weeks. After hitting two doubles and stealing three bases, Guerrero has a .321/.409/.420 line on the season. He’s up to nine steals and six doubles, with the latter tied for the lead among Pirates DSL hitters.
One More Report
I’ve written about Levi Sterling before, but I wanted to highlight the start he had on Sunday.
Sterling pitched five innings with one earned run allowed, while striking out nine batters. This was the third time this season he’s struck out nine batters in a start, which has helped to a 25.7% strikeout rate this year.
The Pirates drafted Sterling with the 37th overall pick in 2024 out of high school. This is his first full season, after pitching in the short-season FCL last year in his pro debut. There have been some rough starts, but Sterling shows promise.
His fastball only sits 92-94 MPH, but he has five other pitches that he throws, with four of his pitches having a 30% whiff rate or higher. The best secondary pitch is a mid-80s slider with a 34.9% recorded whiff rate. His low-80s curveball gets a 33.9% whiff rate.
I’d expect Sterling to remain in Bradenton the rest of the season, allowing him to put together starts like this outing on a more consistent basis. The 19-year-old has some promise with an advanced pitch mix and good control. This past start was an example of what happens when everything is clicking for him.
Until the next time I go live…
-Tim Williams