Wyatt Sanford

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Pittsburgh Pirates #7 prospect in 2025
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme.
  
  Track Record: Sanford emerged as perhaps the best defensive high school shortstop in the 2024 class after an impressive spring with Independence High in Frisco, Texas. The Pirates drafted him in the second round, buying him out of a Texas A&M commitment with an over-slot bonus just shy of $2.5 million. Like Pittsburgh’s other prep picks, Sanford did not make his pro debut, instead participating in instructional league-style action at bridge league following the draft. His father Chance Sanford was twice drafted by the Pirates and briefly reached the majors in 1998 and 1999.
  
  Scouting Report: Sanford looks the part of a future big league shortstop. He has natural, easy actions at shortstop, good instincts and reliable hands. Sanford makes a decisive first step and is comfortable moving both laterally and hard-charging slow-rolling grounders. He can make every throw with his above-average arm strength, and he is also a plus runner. His bat, though, is more of a question mark. He has decent bat-to-ball skills but doesn’t hit the ball particularly hard, leading evaluators to question Sanford’s overall impact potential following an inconsistent summer circuit. He took a step forward in his senior spring, during which he showed more twitch and explosiveness. Sanford doesn’t have a particularly big frame, either, but he could hit 10-15 home runs per year if he finds a way to add more strength and physicality.
  
  The Future: Sanford will be 19 years old for the entirety of the 2025 season, when he should reach full-season ball after a tune-up in the complex league. He has the upside of a defensive-minded everyday shortstop in the big leagues.
  
  Scouting Grades Hit: 50 | Power: 40 | Run: 60 | Fielding: 60 | Arm: 55

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #42 prospect in 2024 draft
  School: Independence HS, Frisco, Texas Commit/Drafted: Texas A&M
  Age At Draft: 18.7
  BA Grade: 55/Extreme
  Tools: Hit: 50. Power: 40. Run: 60. Field: 60. Arm: 55.
  
  Sanford is a lean, lefthanded-hitting shortstop who has a flair for the defensive side of the game and big league bloodlines. His father Chance had a cup of coffee in the majors during parts of the 1998 and ’99 seasons and played shortstop, second base and third base. Wyatt, who is listed at 6-foot-1, 181 pounds, fields the shortstop position like you would expect of a high-level athlete who grew up with a father who knew what it took. He’s a confident defender with all of the tools and skills to be an impact defender. His hands are soft, quick and reliable. He moves well to both sides and also coming in on slow rollers in front of him, with both a quick exchange and above-average arm strength that let him make tough plays from deep in the hole. Sanford looks the part of a big league shortstop and is arguably the most talented defender at the position in an admittedly down year for shortstops. His offensive tools aren’t yet that loud, but he has a chance for an average hit tool with below-average or fringy power production. He’s a contact hitter who controls the zone at a solid clip, rarely misses on pitches inside the zone and hammers fastballs. He also had a loud spring season with Independence High in Texas and is a plus runner. Sanford is a Texas A&M commit but is expected to be a day one draft selection.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #57 prospect in 2024

• 2024 High School Top 100 Draft Prospects
  School: Independence HS, Frisco, Texas Committed: Texas A&M
  Age At Draft: 18.7
  Sanford is a lean, lefthanded-hitting shortstop with solid defensive actions and big league bloodlines. His father, Chance, had a cup of coffee in the big leagues during parts of the 1998-99 seasons and played shortstop, second base and third base. Sanford has a 6-foot-1, 172-pound frame with solid bat speed and a clean bat path. He makes a lot of contact and can hit line drives into both gaps, though he has below-average raw power and doesn’t look like the sort of hitter who will ever have much more than solid-average juice. Instead his offensive value comes from contact skills and strong swing decisions. In 26 logged games in 2023 he slashed .349/.494/.508 with seven doubles and twice as many walks (16) as strikeouts (eight). He made contact at an 84% clip in that sample and almost never missed a fastball, with a 92% contact rate overall against fastballs and a tremendous 97% rate against fastballs inside the strike zone. Sanford is an above-average defender at shortstop who moves well in the field with above-average speed. He has reliable hands and fluid actions and can make challenging plays thanks to his athleticism and the fact that he has above-average arm strength and a quick exchange. There’s no obvious reason to think he’ll move off the position at the next level, which gives him a solid all-around profile as a prospect. Sanford is committed to Texas A&M.