Pirates Prospect Weekly: Lonnie White Jr.'s Monster Month, Wietgrefe Turns Heads at Triple-A
By Simon Lane ·
White Hot: Lonnie White Jr. Is Forcing the Conversation
Lonnie White Jr. (AA, OF, Rank: 31) went 10-for-24 with a homer, a triple, a double, three walks, and a hit-by-pitch last week, which is remarkable on its own. Zoom out to the last 30 days, and it becomes a genuine organizational story: White is slashing .354/.429/.722 over his last 21 games in Double-A, with 8 home runs and 14 RBI in that span. He entered the season with a 45 hit grade and a well-documented strikeout problem, having fanned at a 35.9% clip in A+ a year ago. The question was always whether he could tighten the contact enough to let the rest of the toolkit breathe. Right now, the answer is yes. His combined line across both levels in 2026 sits at .292/.391/.564 with 22 home runs and 18 stolen bases, and his walk rate at Double-A (12.5%) is the best of his career. The 60 speed, 55 center-field defense, and the power are all present. For the first time, the hit tool is showing up too.
White has always had the athletic profile to contribute at the big-league level even when the bat was cold. A 60 runner who can play true center and has a legitimate power ceiling gives a team something to work with even through rough patches. But the version of White that has shown up in July and into August is a different animal: a hitter who is driving balls to all fields, accepting walks, and not chasing himself out of at-bats. His strikeout rate over the last 30 days (27.5%) is still elevated, and the swing can still get steep on elevated heat, but it is a noticeable improvement from the whiff numbers that defined his earlier career. His scouting report projects a second-division center fielder with a shot at a solid everyday role if the contact gains hold. Based on this stretch, the "if" feels smaller than it did two months ago. A promotion to Triple-A feels close, and his name should be on the short list of Pirates prospects with a legitimate MLB timeline before the end of 2026.
Soft-Tossing and Unmatched: Connor Wietgrefe's Triple-A Run
Connor Wietgrefe (AAA, LHP, Rank: 49) delivered the most eye-catching pitching line of the week: 12.1 innings, 9 hits, 2 earned runs, 5 walks, and 10 strikeouts across what was likely a piggyback or combined start situation. That was the cherry on top of a month that has been borderline outstanding. Over his last six Triple-A outings, Wietgrefe has posted a 1.29 ERA across 35 innings with 28 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.03. His season ERA at Indianapolis sits at 2.61 through 48.1 innings. The grading here is realistic: this is a soft-tosser (86-91 mph fastball) with a 50 changeup, a fringe slider, and serviceable command. His stuff grades project a long reliever at best, with an up-and-down profile as the realistic big-league outcome. But the results at Triple-A are undeniable, and if you squint at the sequencing and the deception in his delivery, you can see why he keeps missing bats despite the modest velocity.
What makes Wietgrefe interesting is that his results are not a product of empty soft contact. His strikeout rate over the last month (28 Ks in 35 IP) suggests he is generating genuine swing-and-miss, and his changeup has been a legitimate weapon against right-handed hitters in that stretch. The profile still has a ceiling, and the jump to the big-league level will challenge the fastball in a way Triple-A has not. A single rough start against a loaded lineup could remind everyone why the grades are where they are. But the Pirates have been aggressive about calling up arms in need of length, and a 24-year-old left-hander who can give you four-to-six innings with a 2.61 ERA in Triple-A is not easy to ignore. I'd take the over on his chances of getting a big-league look before September is out.
Quick Hits
Sammy Stafura, SS, Mets (A+, Brooklyn) · #306 Overall · was traded to the New York Mets this week for Luke Weaver and cash, a significant transaction for the Pirates system. Stafura was ranked 11th in the organization and was one of the younger pieces of the upper-minors infield depth. His departure clears some organizational space but also removes a legitimate prospect from the pipeline.
Jhonny Severino, SS, Pirates (A+, Greensboro) · #827 · crushed three home runs and drove in four across 22 plate appearances last week. It is part of an eight-homer explosion over his last 19 games, with a .630 slugging mark in that span. The swing-and-miss is real (80 strikeouts on the season) and the 40 hit grade reflects legitimate concerns about his approach against breaking balls, but the raw power is not in question: 27 home runs in 90 games at A+ is a legitimate headline. He is probably not a shortstop long-term, but the bat may not care.
Murf Gray, 3B, Pirates (AA, Altoona) · #338 · went 4-for-17 in raw hits but drew five hit-by-pitches to reach base at a solid clip, driving in 4 and launching a homer. The promotion to Double-A has been an adjustment: he is slashing .208/.415/.479 at the level, with the on-base number carrying the line because he is getting plunked or walking at an unusually high rate. His combined season line sits at .312/.407/.591 with 27 home runs, making him one of the more productive hitters in the system regardless of level. The 60 arm and the 55 power give him a chance to stick at third, but the chase rate will determine how long Double-A arms can exploit him.
Callan Moss, 1B, Pirates (AA, Altoona) · #259 · had a very productive week on base: 8 hits in 22 plate appearances, a home run, 3 walks. The approach has always been his carrying tool, and his season walk rate at Double-A (9.4%) reflects that. The power, however, has been slow to emerge; he is at just 6 home runs in 95 games at Altoona, and his .390 slugging at the level is below what you need from a first-base-only profile. His last-30-day slugging (.372) is similarly muted. The bat-to-ball is real. The thump still needs to show up.
Easton Carmichael, C, Pirates (AA, Altoona) · #642 · drove in 5 runs last week on 6 hits, including 2 home runs, in 20 plate appearances. He now has 18 combined home runs on the season, 16 of which came at A+, where he hit .305/.350/.518 in 74 games. His first look at Double-A has been more modest, but the power flashed again this week. He is a 22-year-old catcher whose long-term defensive home is still uncertain, but the bat has been better than advertised against upper-level pitching.
Termarr Johnson, SS, Pirates (AAA, Indianapolis) · #257 · went 4-for-25 in base hits but drew 8 walks, finishing with 3 RBI and a home run in a week that was more about process than production. His season OBP at Triple-A (.338) remains his best calling card; he has 67 walks in 93 games. The batting average (.201) and the slugging (.321) are the ongoing concerns. Johnson is a 22-year-old with a 50 hit tool projection and a legitimate on-base foundation, but the gap between the walk totals and the raw offensive output has persisted long enough to warrant watching.
Tony Blanco Jr., LF, Pirates (A+, Greensboro) · #507 · went 4-for-18 with 2 home runs and 3 RBI. He has 17 home runs in 62 combined games this season, backed by a 65 raw power grade that is very much the real thing. The contact issues are equally real: 77 strikeouts in 261 plate appearances, a sub-.240 batting average. His last 30 days show a .604 slugging with a .275 OBP, which captures the profile perfectly. There is middle-of-the-order power here. Whether there is enough contact to access it at higher levels remains the central question of his development.
Mitch Jebb, SS, Pirates (AAA, Indianapolis) · #586 · delivered a lively week: 6 hits including two triples and a pair of doubles, 4 walks, 1 RBI across 27 plate appearances. He is hitting .344/.403/.641 in 16 games at Triple-A, with a 55 hit grade and 60 speed that show up in the quality of contact and the triples count. He is a utility-floor profile with a shot at a second-division role, and this Triple-A debut has looked the part. A 24-year-old switch-hitter who can run and make contact at Indianapolis is what the Pirates need on the depth chart.
Derek Diamond, RHP, Pirates (AAA, Indianapolis) · #213 · threw 4.1 innings of one-hit, one-run ball with 4 strikeouts last week, continuing a stretch in which he has posted a 2.77 ERA over 13 innings in his last 9 appearances. His season ERA across all levels sits at 2.84 with a 1.03 WHIP, a long way from the 10.09 ERA he posted in 2025. The swing from last year to this one is one of the more dramatic turnarounds in the system. He is a four-pitch swingman with solid-average stuff rather than anything loud, but the control (4 walks in 38 innings this year) has been sharp enough to make it work.
Hunter Barco, LHP, Pirates (AAA, Indianapolis) · #164 · was optioned back to Indianapolis after a rough MLB stint (7.36 ERA in 14.2 innings) and went 4.1 innings, 2 hits, 1 earned run in his Triple-A return last week, though the 4 walks and only 2 strikeouts are a concern. His season-long command issues (40 combined walks) have been the story: the 60 slider and the 95-97 mph sinker give him a legitimate ceiling, but the walk rate has consistently undercut the stuff at every level this year. Health management and command consistency remain the two variables that will determine whether the No. 5 starter projection is achievable or whether the relief fallback becomes the more realistic path.
Rafael Flores, C, Pirates (MLB, Pittsburgh) · #646 · returned from the 7-day injured list this week, activated back to the Pittsburgh roster. With Edgleen Perez (Rank: 28) also landing on the IL at Bradenton, the Pirates are suddenly thin at catcher depth across the system.