Inside the Greensboro Grasshoppers’ Historic Run as the Pirates’ High-A Juggernaut

In Minor League Baseball, team records are often put on the back burner. Player development always comes first, as teams want to see their minor leaguers succeed. While this season has produced many surprising prospects, the Greensboro Grasshoppers have quietly been the best overall team in the minors by a wide margin.

The Grasshoppers are the High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team that’s had to rely heavily on its internal player development to succeed because of their budgetary constraints. Usually, the focus has been on one or two prospects in their system, but this year, their entire High-A affiliate is worth a look.

Greensboro currently possesses the best record in the minor leagues despite missing the playoffs in the first half of the season, showing just how much they’ve flown under the radar. At 76-32, there isn’t a better team in the minor leagues.

Behind their record is a team full of top prospects and lesser-known players who are all pulling their weight. Their season has been a very special and simultaneously a historic run. Something else to note is their success despite many promotions this year, something that’s not sustainable with many moves occurring.

Who are some of the faces behind their dominant season? What has been so historic about the team? Let’s take a closer look at the best team in the minors and answer some of these questions.

Grasshoppers’ Rotation Setting the Tone for Success

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the Greensboro Grasshoppers, they play in a ridiculously offense-friendly environment. Calling First National Bank Field a hitter-friendly park just doesn’t do it justice, as it’s one of the best parks in the minors for hitters.

This makes the success of their pitching staff even more shocking, as they’re dealt a difficult hand from the beginning. They’ve also maintained long-term success from their starting pitching despite losing a few key names to the Double-A Altoona Curve, making this even more impressive.

Currently, their rotation consists of five starters: Khristian Curtis, Hung Leng-Chang, Connor Weitgrefe, Peyton Stumbo, and Carlson Reed.

Curtis has arguably been the best of this group, as his ability to limit the long ball has been one of the most notable aspects of his game. He’s pitched to an ERA of 4.15 across 86.2 innings while striking out 91 batters along the way. Curtis has been regarded as a top 30 prospect in the system, as his arsenal features three pitches with plus potential.

Curtis also started Greensboro’s first combined perfect game this season, going six innings and striking out 10 batters. Yes, you read that correctly: this pitching staff has combined for two perfect games, a feat that hadn’t been done once outside of the complex leagues since 2017.

The pitcher who started the other perfect game, Hung Leng-Chang, has been through his fair share of ups and downs this season. Maintaining an ERA over 5.20, he’s been a victim of the tough run environment in Greensboro.

Left-hander Connor Weitgrefe has been another one of the most stable arms in this rotation. He’s posted an ERA under 3.70 through 85.1 innings, while also limiting walks and home runs along the way. It’s tough to look past his dominance, as he’s been a very consistent arm.

The title of best ERA in the current Grasshoppers’ rotation belongs to Peyton Stumbo, who’s been very good since his promotion to the level earlier this year. His ERA of 3.21 shows his consistent success in his first 28 innings. He’s also limited home runs, as Stumbo has allowed just one homer since entering High-A.

The last member of this rotation, Carlson Reed, has some serious potential he can tap into. Reed, a former member of the West Virginia Mountaineers, has one of the best sliders in the organization. He’s battled injuries this year, but has still been solid. Reed’s ERA currently sits at just over 4.60 across 42.2 innings pitched.

Overall, their rotation has featured some of the brightest spots on the entire team. The rotation’s ability to at least keep games within reach has been massive, especially with players like Antwone Kelly, their best starter, being promoted to Double-A. Their ability to keep home runs in check despite the hitter-friendly nature of their home ballpark has also been huge for the Grasshoppers.

A Lockdown Bullpen That Closes the Door

The Grasshoppers’ rotation hasn’t been the only bright spot of their pitching staff, as their bullpen has been nothing short of tremendous. Just like their rotation, their bullpen has had many players poached because of promotions, yet they’ve remained a dominant force.

Out of relievers with at least 15 innings pitched, seven relievers have posted ERAs under 3.00, showing just how dominant they’ve been. In all fairness, a few of these arms are no longer with the team, but they couldn’t have gotten here without these mainstay arms.

Landon Tomkins and Mike Walsh have led the bullpen all year long, as they’ve logged the most innings out of these seven pitchers.

Walsh has thrown to a 2.76 ERA across nearly 50 innings, allowing for a sense of comfort late in games. Given their stadium, this type of reliability has been tough to come by in past seasons.

The same can be said for Tomkins, as he’s pitched to a 2.47 ERA across 47.1 innings. Tomkins has brought the same level of reliability as Walsh, making for a lethal one-two punch out of the bullpen.

Between these two arms, they’ve only allowed three homers in 97.1 innings, while also keeping walks in check. For any team, having a reliable bullpen that keeps games close late in the game is huge, but the level of reliability these two arms have allowed has been incredibly valuable.

Both pitchers were promoted to Double-A following last week’s games, but they were immediately replaced with two more solid arms. This has been a trend their bullpen has seen all year: when one solid arm moves on up, they’re immediately replaced with another solid relief option.

The way the Grasshoppers have maximized their bullpen has been incredible, and a key reason that they’re as good as they’ve been. When it comes time to compete for a High-A championship, this will be massive for the team.

Historic Production from the Grasshoppers’ Bats

I’ve mentioned a few times in this story about how the Grasshoppers’ stadium has made for a tricky situation for their pitching staff. Even though this is true, their stadium has also worked to the benefit of their offense, allowing them to post historic offensive numbers so far this year.

As a team, they’ve combined for 143 homers through 109 games so far. The Grasshoppers have had seven hitters reach double-digit home run totals, a feat you don’t often see in the minor leagues.

This couldn’t be done without Just Baseball’s number two prospect, Konnor Griffin, who’s been the best player on the field since his High-A promotion. Across 46 games, Griffin has slashed .324/.429/.523 with seven homers, 29 stolen bases, and a 171 wRC+.

Griffin has been having a historic season in the minor leagues, and the Grasshoppers have really benefited from his presence in the lineup at just 19 years old.

Griffin isn’t the only piece of this lineup that’s been very good, though, as the Grasshoppers have found production from their whole lineup.

Before being promoted to Double-A, Esmerlyn Valdez had led the offense, slugging 20 homers while posting a 174 wRC+ across 72 High-A games.

Even though much of their offense has been promoted, they’ve remained dominant. The Grasshoppers proved this with a 27-4 victory in last Saturday’s game, where each part of their lineup pulled its weight.

Shalin Polanco, Keiner Delgado, P.J. Hilson, and Lonnie White Jr. have all reached the double-digit homer mark and are still currently on the team. The best overall hitter of this group has likely been Keiner Delgado, due to his success over 100 games.

Delgado has posted a wRC+ of 122, showing his overall success at the top of the lineup. He’s a legitimate extra-base hit threat as he’s slugged 29 XBH across his 100 games. Delgado also has some sneaky speed, going 20 for 21 on stolen base attempts.

Outfielder Will Taylor has also been phenomenal since being promoted to High-A with Konnor Griffin earlier this season. In 44 games, he’s slashed .228/.357/.395 with six homers and a 121 wRC+, making him a serious threat in the order.

Nine players have recorded an OPS above .800 this season for the Grasshoppers, with even more players posting marks above .750 along the way. The Grasshoppers have also gotten even more help through the draft and the trade deadline, as Callan Moss, Jared Jones, Sammy Stafura, and Easton Carmichael have all been positive additions to the order.

The Grasshoppers truly wouldn’t be as good as they are without such a well-rounded and solid offensive core. Similar to their pitching staff, the Pirates have done a good job at supplementing the team with more talent, even when promoting the team’s top offensive threats.

Is Their Dominance a Positive Sign for the Pirates?

In the grand scheme of things, a High-A team steamrolling competition doesn’t exactly indicate future success. After all, the minor leagues are far more about developing tools rather than hoisting High-A championship trophies.

However, the Greensboro Grasshoppers’ dominance this season is about more than just winning; it’s about how they’ve won. From their dominant rotation to their bullpen, to a historic offense, this team has been winning as a team on all cylinders all season long.

Whether or not these winning ways will translate further up the system is a much bigger and challenging question. As we’ve established, their offensive environment will likely create slightly more unsustainable production, similar to the Pacific Coast League.

Even though this type of hitter-friendly ballpark can create some speculation on whether or not these offensive performances will hold up, we can take away incredibly positive things from how their pitching staff has dealt with the same environment. If their arms can find this level of success in Greensboro, it’s a good sign they’ll be able to pitch this well moving forward.

Of course, every level has its unique challenges, making this a difficult question to answer right now. However, Pirates fans should feel excited by their High-A affiliate’s dominance.

From top prospects like Konnor Griffin and lesser-known relievers such as Landon Tomkins and Mike Walsh, these performances could indicate many more weapons being developed that could help the big league team one day in the future.

If even a fraction of this group carries their production and confidence through the system, Greensboro’s historic run could be remembered not just as a fun story, but as the moment the Pirates’ rebuild truly began to turn the corner.