Scouting the Pirates system 2025: Best infield defense
Over the next several days, we will be looking at some of the players with the ‘best tools’ in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization. It will focus on players who still hold prospect status within the farm system.
On the hitting side, here is how the series will break down:
Wednesday: Hit
Thursday: Power
Friday: Speed
Saturday: Infield Defense
Sunday: Outfield Defense
With the Pittsburgh Pirates built through pitching, defense is that much more important. While a lack of run support ruined many strong performances, poor defense can suppress them as well, especially for pitchers who pitch to contact.
Over the last couple of years, the Pirates have done a good job at stockpiling infielders, more importantly, those who could potentially stick at shortstop - the most important position in the dirt.
Here’s a look at some of the best infield defenders in the Pirates system:
Sammy Stafura
Ironically, perhaps the best infield defender in the Pirates system right now was acquired in a trade that featured their best infield defender on the major league roster - Ke’Bryan Hayes.
Defense wasn’t always Stafura’s strength, but he said he put emphasis on it this season, and that work paid off. Stafura has a plus arm, with smooth actions at short with plenty of range. His overall profile fits better as a backup utility infielder, but there’s no doubt he has the chops to stick at short.
Wyatt Sanford
Sanford fits almost in the mold of Stafura, but with a bit more upside with the bat. He has a strong throwing arm, capable of making all the throws that come with playing short.
I saw him make several plays charging the ball in the infield, with a quick exchange to make a strong throw to first. It’s a no-doubt plus glove and arm, with enough range to stick there long-term.
Javier Rivas
One look at Rivas makes what he does in the field all the more impressive. Standing every bit of 6’6”, Rivas is one of the smoothest infielders that the Pirates have in the minors. His size screams a move to third base, but he has the arm and range to play a very good shortstop.
Even when he struggled to hit a few years back, it was his glove that kept him relevant, wanting to see a change with the bat to become a more well-rounded player.
More to Watch
There were some questions about whether Konnor Griffin would stick at shortstop long-term, and he answered them with a resounding ‘yes’ in his first pro season. He still has some time in the outfield, where his arm and speed could still be a weapon, but his play at shortstop was impressive enough to leave little question about his long-term home.
Jack Brannigan has dealt with his fair share of injuries throughout his career, but there is no question about his glove. He has a plus arm (upper-90s fastball on the mound will do that) and has shown surprising range to be serviceable at shortstop.
He may not be a gold glove winner, but Keiner Delgado has shown a surprising amount of versatility with the Pirates. He’s capable of playing second, third, and shortstop. While the arm wouldn’t make him a great fit at shortstop as a long-term home, he’s more than capable of filling in here and there.
Bucs on Deck 2025 Pittsburgh Pirates Top Prospects: Final Update
The 2025 minor league season is now over, so we can give one final update to our 2025 top prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization.
Another guy would be Kendrick Herrera, who was in the FCL this year. Dunno whether he’ll hit, but he’s a legit SS.
This would be relevant if the Pirates were going to trade Nick Gonzales, and make Jared Triolo a Utility IF rather than a starter at one of the IF positions. Not Triolo's fault, but he came to the attention of the public after Ke Hayes was injured and Triolo took over and won the Best Utility Infielder Award in 2024. He's that good with the glove. Not so much to write home about with the bat.
I want to see Konnor Griffin and Termarr Johnson as our MI in 2026, But not on Opening Day. I want them to get AB's at AAA and come up to MLB in June or July. I think both have shown that aura of being able to handle the move to MLB. I just hope they do so without losing one of their years of control. Same goes for Esmerlyn Valdez.
Quick, if someone asked you who had the most AB's at cleanup for the Pirates in 2025, what would your answer be? Oneil Cruz? Bryan Reynolds? Andrew McCutchen? Spencer Horwitz? Tommy Pham? No, they are just the Top 5 HR hitters of the Pirates in 2025. The answer is Nick Gonzales who hit 5 whole HR's in 2025 with a 661 OPS. He had 163 AB at Cleanup, Horwitz had 105 AB's at Cleanup, and Cruz had 56 AB at Cleanup. Don't think Reynolds ever batted much at cleanup and did not even look at Pham, Bart, etc. How can this be? When you figure that out, please explain that to me. It does not make baseball sense, so why? 163 AB is like 40 games worth of AB's!