Pirates Top Prospects Going For Championship Glory
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A team's future is always important, and the Pittsburgh Pirates have a few prospects who are close to postseason glory.
The Greensboro Grasshoppers, the Pirates' High-A affiliate, will face the Winston-Salem Dash (Chicago White Sox) in the South Atlantic League Championship Series, starting on Sept. 13.
Greensboro won the final two games in a three-game series over Frederick (Baltimore Orioles) in the South Atlantic League Division Series, giving themselves a chance at the Championship.
It's been a great season for the Grasshoppers, and they've had some of the best Pirates' prospects during this run.
Best Pirates Prospects Coming Through for Greensboro
The Pirates have had many of their best talents this season play for Greensboro, some of whom could make their MLB debut as early as next season.
It includes top pitching prospect Seth Hernandez, who is out for the season with a left oblique strain, plus third baseman Murf Gray, catcher Easton Carmichael and outfielder Lonnie White Jr., all of whom are finishing up their year with Double-A Altoona.
Top Pirates Hitting Prospects at Greensboro
Player | Position | MLB Pipeline | Baseball America |
|---|---|---|---|
Edward Florentino | OF | No. 2 (34th overall) | No. 2 (40th overall) |
Wyatt Sanford | SS | No. 5 | No. 5 |
Axiel Plaz | C/1B | No. 7 | No. 11 |
Tony Blanco | 1B | No. 27 | No. 30 |
Jhonny Severino | 3B/OF | No. 28 | N/A |
Top Pirates Pitching Prospects at Greensboro
Player | Pitching Side | MLB Pipeline | Baseball America |
|---|---|---|---|
Reinold Navarro | Left | No. 21 | No. 12 |
Levi Sterling | Right | No. 12 | No. 19 |
Greensboro has some great Pirates hitting prospects, with top position player prospects, outfielder Edward Florentino, garnering the most hype.
Shortstop Wyatt Sanford and catcher/first baseman Axiel Plaz both had breakout seasons, first baseman Tony Blanco Jr. showed off his incredible power throughout and third baseman/outfielder Jhonny Severino was one of the best hitters in the South Atlantic League.
Pirates pitching prospects, left-hander Reinold Navarro and right-hander Levi Sterling, spent most of their season with Single-A Bradenton before earning promotions to Greensboro late on.
How All Pirates Prospects Have Contributed in Playoffs
The playoffs give the best players a chance to show up, and that's exactly what happened with Greensboro.
Greensboro lost Game 1, 13-1 at home to Frederick on Sept. 8, before going on the road and winning Game 2, 5-3 on Sept. 10 and Game 3, 7-5 on Sept. 11, progressing to the Championship.
Florentino was huge in the last two games, hitting two solo home runs, the first to put Greensboro up 5-0 in the sixth inning of Game 2 and the second to tie up Game 3 5-5 in the eighth inning, where Greensboro scored three runs to win the series.
Blanco showed off his power once again, hitting a three-run home run in the third inning of Game 2 to put Greensboro up 3-0.
Sanford, who hit 19 home runs this season, hit two solo home runs in Game 3, leading off to put Greensboro up 1-0 and then the second to cut the deficit to 3-2 in the third inning.
Sterling and Navarro both pitched in Game 2 and were a big reason Greensboro won that contest.
Greensboro stared Sterling, who threw five scoreless innings, allowing just a hit and two walks, while posting five strikeouts.
Navarro struck out eight of the first 10 batters he faced over the next three innings and finished with nine strikeouts, before struggling a bit in the ninth inning, but showed the dominant four-seam fastball that can take him to the major leagues.
Greensboro now face Winston-Salem on the road for Game 1 of the South Atlantic League Championship on Sept. 13 and then have Game 2 on Sept. 15 and Game 3 on Sept. 16, if necessary,
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.