Bucco Boys Prospect Weekly: Sanford Pops Three Homers at High-A, Diamond Goes Filthy at Triple-A
By Simon Lane ·
Bucco Boys Prospect Weekly covers the last 7 days of action for the Pirates farm system.
Wyatt Sanford Has Some Power in That Bat
Wyatt Sanford (A+, SS, Rank: 8) went 8-for-20 with three home runs, a double, four RBI, and three walks across 20 plate appearances last week, generating the top Performance Index delta in the Pittsburgh system. The home run total demands a second look from anyone who has filed Sanford away as a contact-and-speed shortstop. He is a 50 hit, 40 power profile who came into 2026 with a legitimate question about whether the bat would produce enough impact for the position, and three home runs in a single week against High-A pitching is at minimum a meaningful data point. His season line at Greensboro sits at .292/.423/.551 with 17 home runs in 341 plate appearances, the slugging a full 100 points higher than anything suggested by his raw power grade.
The last 30 days amplify the case: seven home runs in 107 plate appearances with a 14.4% walk rate, which tracks with his season-long 14.1% figure and confirms the on-base skill is real and consistent. The counterweight is a 26.2% strikeout rate over that same stretch, up from his season-long 29.3%, so the swing-and-miss is still present. His 60.5% contact rate has not budged since last season, and at a 50% swing rate over the last month, he is getting more aggressive without getting sloppier. The honest picture here is a 20-year-old shortstop who is outproducing his power grade by a comfortable margin, walking at a premium clip, and stealing bases at will, 33 on the year. Whether the power is real or whether High-A pitchers are leaving enough mistakes for him to punish will be the central test whenever Double-A arrives. For now, he has one of the more complete offensive profiles in the Pittsburgh system regardless of age, and last week was his strongest argument yet.
Derek Diamond's Six Innings of Near-Nothing at Indianapolis
Derek Diamond (AAA, RHP, Rank: 37) allowed one hit and no runs across six innings at Indianapolis, walking one and striking out five while generating 12 swinging misses on 75 pitches. The outing was the peak of a strong September run for a pitcher who looked completely different a year ago. In 2025, Diamond posted a 14.79 ERA across nine appearances at Double-A with a 2.93 WHIP; this year he carries a 2.67 ERA over 54 innings with a 1.07 WHIP and a 4.1% walk rate that indicates a changed pitcher. Over his last 30 days at Triple-A, the ERA sits at 1.38 across 13 innings with a 31.8% whiff rate. The stuff itself hasn't transformed, a 45-grade fastball in the low-to-mid 90s, a slider that flashes average, and a pair of secondaries, so what has changed is the strike-throwing.
Diamond's walk rate this season is 4.1% across all levels, compared to 12.2% in 2025. That is not a minor refinement; it is the difference between a depth arm perpetually in trouble and a swingman who can eat innings without burning a bullpen. The projection still reads as a long reliever or up-and-down option, and nothing about six innings against Triple-A hitters rewrites that. But the process behind the result matters here: 36 strikes on 75 pitches, one baserunner through six frames, and 12 whiffs from a pitcher whose secondaries are fringe-to-average. If the strike-throwing discipline holds, Diamond could be a useful organizational piece in Pittsburgh by next season. For an arm that posted double-digit ERAs a year ago, that is not a small thing.
Quick Hits
Axiel Plaz (A+, C, Rank: 23) · went 4-for-15 with two home runs, four RBI, and three walks last week, his 18th and 19th home runs of the season. Over his last 30 days he is slugging .684 with eight home runs in 87 plate appearances, a 16.1% strikeout rate, and a 76.9% contact rate. The contact rate has been the most consistent feature of his year, he is a 50 hit, 55 power bench-profile catcher with a 17.2% strikeout rate for the season at 21 years old, and that strikeout suppression at an aggressive 51% swing rate is the number that keeps the offensive floor credible. I'd take the over on his eventual big-league utility given that combination.
Mitch Jebb (AAA, OF, Rank: 13) · reached base eight times in 23 plate appearances, eight hits, including a double and a triple, and four walks, without driving in a single run. That zero in the RBI column is a curiosity given the volume of traffic, but the broader profile holds: a 55 hit, 60 speed utility piece hitting .291/.373/.486 at Indianapolis on the season with a 16.9% strikeout rate that is among the best marks in the system. He is not going to slug his way to a roster spot, but a contact-and-speed outfielder with an 11.4% walk rate at Triple-A has real organizational value.
Duce Gourson (AAA, 3B, Rank: 29) · had six hits, including a double, a triple, and a home run, across 17 plate appearances. His last 30 days at Indianapolis show a .289 average and a .446 slugging mark over 95 plate appearances, a tick above his season-long numbers. Gourson is a 55 hit, 45 power profile who has drawn 76 walks this season, a 14.9% rate, and stolen 37 bases. The power has never been the carrying tool; the carrying tools are the plate approach and the legs.
Keiner Delgado (AA, 2B, Rank: 43) · drove in seven runs on six hits, including a double and a home run, across 20 plate appearances. His season at Double-A sits at .251/.349/.384 with 10 home runs and 24 stolen bases, which is a reasonable return for a 22-year-old switch hitter whose profile is built around speed and on-base ability rather than power.
Murf Gray (AA, 3B, Rank: 10) · went 8-for-22 with two doubles, three RBI, and two walks, a contact-heavy week that fits his season profile. Gray is hitting .304/.401/.565 with 31 home runs across three levels this year, with a 43.8% swing rate and a 75.4% contact rate that make the production look sustainable. The 31 home runs, 26 doubles, and 95 RBI at 22 are the headline numbers; the 55 power, 60 arm, and improving zone discipline are what make the Double-A promotion feel like the right test at the right time.
Javier Rivas (AA, SS, Rank: 14) · went 6-for-16 with a home run and three RBI. The week was a relative high point in a stretch that has been hard to watch: over his last 30 days he is hitting at a 3.2% walk rate with a 32.3% strikeout rate and a 59.5% contact rate, the combination that advanced pitchers will keep attacking. He is a 40 hit, 50 power profile with real over-the-fence ability when he gets something to lift, but the walk-and-contact numbers at Double-A this year are genuinely thin, and the profile increasingly points toward an up-down role rather than a regular one.
Easton Carmichael (AA, C, Rank: 27) · was productive across 26 plate appearances, going 5-for-23 with a triple, two doubles, a home run, and five RBI. At Altoona this year he is hitting .248/.316/.421 with four home runs and 26 RBI in 136 plate appearances. The season line is modest, but a 15.4% strikeout rate at Double-A for an aggressive catcher with a 50.9% swing rate is a legitimate skill, and his last-30-day contact rate of 77.3% is among the better marks in the system.
Jhostynxon Garcia (AAA, CF, Rank: 9) · had a rough return week after coming off the injured list September 9, going 1-for-5 with three strikeouts in his first game back. The broader context is a difficult Triple-A stint: Garcia is hitting .269/.335/.414 at Indianapolis on the season with a 24.0% strikeout rate, and his MLB cameo with Pittsburgh (.167/.200/.188 in 50 plate appearances) has added to a complicated 2026 picture. He is a 55 power, 45 hit corner-outfield profile with a strong arm, and the tools remain. But the contact and chase issues that have followed him across levels are real, and this week was a small, uninformative sample on top of a noisy season.
Edward Florentino (A+, OF, Rank: 2) · put up a muted week by his standards, 3-for-21 with a double, a home run, four RBI, and three walks. It was the first genuinely off week in a stretch that had been carrying the system: over the last 30 days he is still slashing with eight home runs, a 18.3% walk rate, and 25 RBI in 115 plate appearances at Greensboro. He is 19 with 27 combined home runs this season across A and A+; one slow week against High-A pitching is not a reason to change any evaluation.
Khristian Curtis (MLB, RHP, Rank: 20) · was recalled to Pittsburgh on September 3. Curtis carries a 1.64 ERA across 11 MLB innings.