Breaking down the Pirates' prospects and potential breakouts on Arizona Fall League rosters

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ season might be winding down, but there will still be plenty of meaningful baseball for the organization to follow this fall.

Pittsburgh will send eight players to the Arizona Fall League, where they will suit up for the Glendale Desert Dogs beginning Oct. 3. The group is headlined by three players ranked among the Pirates’ top 30 prospects by MLB Pipeline: shortstop Wyatt Sanford (No. 5), catcher Easton Carmichael (No. 8) and infielder Jhonny Severino (No. 28).

There are also five pitchers headed west: Brandon Cain, Cameron Keshock, Zander Mueth, Cristhian Tortosa and Michael Walsh.

For Sanford and Carmichael, the AFL represents an opportunity to put an exclamation point on breakout seasons. For several of the pitchers, it's about making up innings, restoring prospect stock or putting themselves on the organization's radar heading into 2027.

8 Pirates prospects to play in Arizona Fall League in 2026

Wyatt Sanford, SS

Sanford has taken one of the biggest steps forward of anyone in Pittsburgh's system, batting .282/.417/.546 with 19 home runs and 33 stolen bases this season. Those numbers become even more impressive considering Sanford's power wasn't necessarily supposed to be the carrying tool in his offensive profile.

MLB Pipeline gives Sanford a 60 grade for both his speed and defense, with a 55 arm, while his power entered the year with a 40 grade. He has quickly made that last evaluation look conservative.

There is still one obvious area to monitor. Sanford struck out in 30.6% of his plate appearances this season. The AFL will offer another test against quality pitching and give the 20-year-old a chance to show that the substantial gains in power can come without sacrificing too much contact.

Easton Carmichael, C

The Pirates suddenly have an interesting collection of young catchers, and Carmichael has forced himself into that conversation remarkably quickly.

A third-round selection in the 2025 draft, Carmichael rose from No. 19 in Pittsburgh's system to No. 8 while climbing to Double-A Altoona during his first full professional season. He finished the regular season hitting .287/.339/.486 with 20 home runs and 92 RBIs while striking out just 16.9% of the time.

MLB Pipeline grades Carmichael as approximately average across the board defensively and offensively, but his production has already begun exceeding some of those projections. The AFL should provide another opportunity to evaluate whether Carmichael's bat can separate him from Pittsburgh's suddenly crowded catching pipeline.

Jhonny Severino, 3B/OF

No Pirates AFL hitter has more raw power than Severino. Acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in the Carlos Santana trade in 2023, Severino rebuilt his prospect stock in a massive way this season. After falling out of Pittsburgh's top 30 following a difficult 2025, he returned to the list by hitting .256/.308/.524 with 31 home runs, 95 RBIs and 16 stolen bases at High-A Greensboro.

MLB Pipeline notes that his improved exit velocities and bat speed have helped him access that raw power more consistently. The question is whether the approach will hold up as he climbs. Severino walked in only 7% of his plate appearances this season, and the AFL will give Pittsburgh another look at whether the power can translate against more advanced pitching.

Zander Mueth, RHP

Mueth might be the most interesting pitcher in this group simply because of how badly he needs a reset. The Pirates selected the 6-foot-6 right-hander No. 67 overall in 2023 and signed him for $1.8 million, but injuries have disrupted his development. He spent time on the injured list again this season and finished with a 9.18 ERA and 2.07 WHIP across just 33 1/3 innings.

The raw ingredients remain intriguing. Mueth throws from a low slot, features a sinking fastball that can reach the upper 90s and pairs it with a sweeping slider. Control, however, remains a significant concern.

For Mueth, the AFL is less about dominating and more about accumulating healthy innings and rediscovering the stuff that once made him one of the more intriguing arms in the lower minors.

Cameron Keshock, RHP

Keshock is another pitcher who could benefit enormously from simply pitching. The 6-foot-7 right-hander was Pittsburgh's 12th-round pick out of Samford in 2025, relying primarily on a sinker while also showing depth with his breaking and offspeed offerings.

Keshock logged only four official innings at Greensboro this season after throwing 9 2/3 innings in his professional debut last year. He has the size and pitch characteristics that give Pittsburgh something to work with, and an extended look against better competition in the AFL could quickly make him a more recognizable name in the system.

Brandon Cain, RHP

A 19th-round selection last year, Cain is an interesting development project because he was still working as a two-way player at Oklahoma before turning his focus toward pitching.

Cain threw 54 innings across 42 relief appearances this season, finishing with a 5.17 ERA, 52 strikeouts and seven saves while advancing from Bradenton to Greensboro. The results weren't spectacular, but his relative lack of pitching experience gives him more developmental runway than a typical 22-year-old reliever.

Cristhian Tortosa, LHP

Tortosa is the veteran of the group at 27 and represents a much different type of AFL participant. The Pirates signed the left-hander in June after he was released by the Philadelphia Phillies, and he went on to strike out 73 batters in 48 2/3 innings this season while pitching primarily at Double-A Altoona.

His 4.62 ERA doesn't jump off the page, but the strikeout production does. Left-handed bullpen depth is always valuable, and a strong showing in Arizona could help Tortosa position himself as a potential depth option higher in the organization next season.

Michael Walsh, RHP

Walsh is another older relief prospect trying to push toward the upper levels. The 25-year-old right-hander finished this season with a 4.60 ERA, 51 strikeouts and a 1.30 WHIP over 47 innings. He briefly reached Triple-A Indianapolis before returning to Altoona and also missed time on the injured list.

Walsh owns a 3.05 ERA and 169 strikeouts over 168 career minor-league innings, so his larger body of work is stronger than his 2026 numbers alone suggest.

For Pittsburgh, the AFL group offers a little bit of everything: two rapidly ascending position players in Sanford and Carmichael, a fascinating power bat in Severino, a former premium draft pick trying to rebound in Mueth and several lower-profile pitchers who could force their way into the organization's plans.

Sanford is the biggest name. Mueth might have the most to gain. But the fun of the Arizona Fall League is often discovering the player nobody was talking about beforehand. The Pirates will have five candidates on the mound hoping to become exactly that.

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