Pirates Prospects Players of the Month for June

Murf Gray led all Pittsburgh Pirates minor league hitters, belting seven home runs. Connor Wietgrefe struck out 32, pitching his way to Triple-A.

Murf Gray and Connor Wietgrefe are the Players of the Month for June in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor league system.

Gray, the Batter of the Month, hit for a .345/.424/.667 line in the month of June, with seven home runs. The home runs brought his season total to 20. Gray spent his first full month with Greensboro, but the power hasn’t been a product of the home park. Gray has 12 homers in High-A, with six at home and six on the road. His OPS is over 1.000 both home and away.

This was the second month in a row that Gray was the Batter of the Month in the Pirates’ minor league system. Last month he hit ten home runs, and didn’t let up even after a promotion to Greensboro. With the way he continues hitting in Greensboro, a promotion to Double-A Altoona would be warranted for the second half of the minor league season.

Wietgrefe, the Pitcher of the Month, threw 23 innings with just one earned run for Altoona. The lefty struck out 29 batters and walked five, while giving up just ten hits. He was promoted to Triple-A by the end of the month, where his first start didn’t go as well, due to three home runs allowed.

The first start with Indianapolis gave some Statcast pitch data for Wietgrefe. His fastball sat 89.9 MPH. His changeup recorded a 50% whiff rate. The 2024 7th rounder also threw an upper-70s curveball for a 23.1% whiff rate. He got off to a slower start with Altoona this season, before settling in during the final month and finishing with a 3.51 ERA in 66.2 innings.

Individual Level Standouts

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Indianapolis Pitcher: Jose Urquidy

Stats: 26.0 IP, 19 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 5 BB, 18 K, 4 HR

Urquidy was signed over the offseason as a depth option. He put up an 8.53 ERA in 6.1 innings in the Majors, and carried those struggles over to the minors. That’s changed over the last month with a string of excellent starts. Whether this can be carried over to the Majors remains to be seen, but Urquidy is starting to look like a depth option again.

Indianapolis Batter: Dominic Fletcher, OF

Stats: 24-for-76, 15 R, 2 2B, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 14 BB

The left-handed hitting outfielder blasted four home runs for Indianapolis in June, while improving his season line to .290/.382/.481. On July 1st, he exercised his opt-out clause to become a free agent. Fletcher was looking like a good depth option, but the Pirates have good outfield depth with the emergence of Esmerlyn Valdez and the initial success of Tyler Callahan. It makes sense that Fletcher went looking for an opportunity elsewhere.

Altoona Pitcher: Connor Wietgrefe

Stats: 23.0 IP, 10 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 29 K, 0 HR

Now in Triple-A, Wietgrefe will have the second half to show whether he can be a depth option for the big league club in the future.

Altoona Batter: Omar Alfonzo, C

Stats: 15-for-52, 7 R, 2B, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 15 BB

Alfonzo was struggling offensively heading into the month, but added five of his eight home runs this season, while also padding his OBP with 15 walks. He finished his month by hitting .364/.432/.636 with three home runs in his final ten games. All three of those home runs came in a two-day span.

Greensboro Pitcher: Seth Hernandez

Stats: 21.2 IP, 15 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 10 BB, 32 K, 2 HR

The top prospect in the system may be heating up in High-A. Or, he could be benefitting from playing on the road. Hernandez made three starts on the road in June, allowing four runs in 16 innings. He allowed two runs in 5.2 innings at home, which wasn’t bad, and an improvement over his first few home starts in Greensboro. He’s shown some control issues, but also keeps striking out hitters at an impressive rate.

Greensboro Batter: Murf Gray, 3B

Stats: 29-for-84, 17 R, 6 2B, 7 HR, 15 RBI, 2 SB, 13 BB

It’s time for Murf Gray to get promoted to Double-A.

Bradenton Pitcher: Reinold Navarro

Stats: 18.0 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 17 BB, 30 K, 0 HR

Navarro impressed me in my recent analysis of the best fastballs in the Pirates’ minor league system. His heater ranked number one, sitting 96.2 MPH with a 47% whiff rate on 646 recorded pitches this year. That helped him record 30 strikeouts in 18 innings this month for Bradenton. His control is a problem, but he also is only 19, putting up dominant numbers in full-season ball.

Bradenton Batter: Eddie Rynders, SS

Stats: 20-for-65, 20 R, 3 2B, 3B, 6 HR, 11 RBI, 4 SB, 12 BB

This was a huge month for Rynders, who hit six home runs, with five of them coming in his final ten games. He only had one homer last year in the FCL, after being a fourth round prep pick in the 2024 MLB draft. The month ended on a down note, with Rynders going to the injured list. This was his best stretch of hitting in his young pro ball career, and hopefully he can pick up where he left off when he returns.

FCL Pirates Pitcher: Robinson Smith

Stats: 15.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 14 K, 0 HR

Smith was the highest paid pitcher in the Pirates’ 2025 international signing class. He’s also been one of the best pitchers in the FCL this season, with a 2.35 ERA in 23 innings. Most of that was due to his performance in June. His upper-70s curveball generated a 60% whiff rate, while his fastball sat 92.8 MPH.

FCL Pirates Batter: Raymond Mola, OF

Stats: 6-for-24, 7 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 10 SB, 13 BB

Mola hasn’t been the best hitter this season, but he gets on base at a tremendous rate and is a threat on the bases. His 13 walks this month helped to raise his FCL OBP to .456, while his 10 stolen bases raised his total to 17 across two levels, which is a career high. He also added his first homer of the season.

DSL Pirates Pitcher: Leudy Reyes

Stats: 12.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 13 BB, 13 K, 0 HR

Reyes pitched entirely in relief this month, showing some control problems but also striking out a batter an inning. The young right-hander is in his second pro season, and while the control hasn’t improved, he’s become harder to hit, showing a big improvement over last year’s 8.14 ERA.

DSL Pirates Batter: Yoander Santana, SS

Stats: 15-for-51, 16 R, 3 2B, 2 3B, HR, 13 RBI, 7 SB, 14 BB

Playing in his second season of pro ball, Santana had a big month to improve his stat line to .294/.449/.490. He hit his first homer of the year, while stealing seven bases, eclipsing last season’s total of five. The 18-year-old shortstop is also doing something rare for the DSL: Walking (20.3%) more than he strikes out (15.9%).

One More Report

Jhonny Severino ranks second in the Pirates’ minor league system in home runs. He finished the month of June with two homers in his last three games, and after a home run on July 2nd, he has 18 on the season. This is now a career high, after he hit 16 in 2024 between the FCL and Low-A.

The Pirates added Severino at the 2023 deadline in a trade for Carlos Santana. Power was one of his standout tools as an 18-year-old, and he continues hitting for power in the lower levels three years later. His overall hitting struggled last season, but he’s shown improvements in his ability to hit for average, along with a boost in power in the jump to High-A.

Greensboro always offers a disclaimer with power numbers, but Severino isn’t a product of a hitter-friendly park. He’s got half of his home runs on the road, and is hitting just as well on the road as he is at home. While 13 of his home runs have come against right-handers, he’s shown the tendency to crush lefties, with a 1.006 OPS that is fueled by a .392 OBP.

The Pirates have been trying him at first base this season, moving from the left side of the infield where he doesn’t have great defensive metrics. He’s also gotten some time in left field. The new positions put more of a focus on his power, and that power could be tested at some point this season in a move to Double-A.

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Until the next time I go live…

-Tim Williams