- Full name Wyatt Sanford
- Born 11/24/2005 in
- Profile Ht.: 6'1" / Wt.: 175 / Bats: L / Throws: R
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Drafted in the 2nd round (47th overall) by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024.
View Draft Report
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 Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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BA Grade: 55/Extreme
Track Record: 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.
Scouting Report: 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.
The Future: Sanford had a loud spring season with Independence High in Texas and is a plus runner. Sanford was a Texas A&M commit and was drafted No. 47 overall.
Scouting Grades:Hit: 50 | Power: 40 | Run: 60 | Field: 60 | Arm: 55.
Top 100 Rankings
Scouting Reports
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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.
