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Greensboro Grasshoppers Advance to SAL Championship Yesterday was just a tad bit embarrassing for Pirates fans subjected to the sloppy play and not-ready-for-prime-time prospect arms of our major league team. It was a 12-2 loss, but it felt even worse than that somehow. They are all must-win games at this point, so showing our ass in the first game of this three-game series wasn’t a great look. We have two more games to look forward to this weekend, so I guess we’ll see what happens. In the meantime, elsewhere in Buccodom, one of our affiliate teams was playing for its playoff life. The Greensboro Grasshoppers were on the road playing the third of a three-game match-up with the Frederick Keys to determine who would represent the North Division in the South Atlantic League championship series. In a game that highlighted their firepower offense, the ‘Hoppers were victorious, beating the Key 7-5. They will take on the Winston-Salem Dash in an All-NC Triad matchup for league championship. An Offensive Juggernaut We’ve been tracking this team’s prodigious offense all season. They followed up their 463 runs scored in 66 first half games with 440 runs in the same number of second half games. That total of 903 runs in 132 regular season games works out to an astounding 6.8 runs per game. While key producers like Lonnie White Jr., Murf Gray and Easton Carmichael had been previously promoted to AA Altoona throughout the season, guys like Wyatt Sanford, Edward Florentino and Axiel Plaz factored into last night’s game. Sanford went 3-for-5 with 2 HR and Florentino added a solo HR batting 1/2 in the lineup. Plaz contributed by scoring two runs batting cleanup, showcasing the team’s run-producing talent. Sanford One To Watch I’ve previously expressed my enthusiasm for Plaz as an offense-first catcher who has hit all season long. Having just turned 20 years old, he’s also two years younger than the average A+ player. I was slower to warm to Sanford, and I’m not exactly sure why. He’s done nothing but hit this season with a .292/.423/.551 line including 17 HR as a shortstop with the defense to stick there. Like Plaz, he’s been just 20 years old in this breakout A+ season. Not rushing the two of them given their age, they will no doubt start 2027 in Altoona. But it was comments from Baseball America’s Editor-in-Chief JJ Copper that really did it for me. As I’ve previously reported, Cooper noted in a Q&A earlier this year that Sanford had "one of the largest jumps in exit velocity among anyone in the minors in 2026." It was a sign that he had the tools to be a special middle infielder for the Pirates in the future. Future Alignment Considering the current major league alignment, I’d conjectured that Sanford might move to 2B to form a double play tandem with Konnor Griffin at SS, but now I’m wondering whether our shirts too of the future is entirely worked out. Griffin has made some pretty remarkable plays at SS since coming up earlier this year, but he’s also made some pretty bonehead plays. People forget that he was a pitcher during high school, alternating between CF and SS in games he wasn’t on the mound. He’s just an incredibly athletic specimen, but it’s not like he had been playing exclusively shortstop since childhood. If Sanford proves to be the total package, Griffin could theoretically move to CF or a corner outfield position pretty easily. I wouldn’t dismiss the SS/2B alignment if the two, but I’m not sure anything needs to be totally set in stone just because the Pirates signed Griffin to a long contract. The Bottom Line 📌 I know it’s premature to be prognosticating the Pirates’ 2028 defensive alignment, but Sanford seems like more of a sure bet to one day be given a shot at being a major league regular. But will it be with the Pirates? I half expected Sanford to be dealt this past trade deadline, especially given his SS role and the current 8-year commitment blocking his path. But I suspect this season has gotten him some decent attention in the Pirates’ front office. We’ll see if he can add a championship title to his credentials on the come up. The ‘Hoppers will visit the Dash tomorrow afternoon for Game 1 of the championship series. #letsgobucs