Pittsburgh has spent years waiting for Sammy White’s tools to turn into production, and this season the 23-year-old outfielder finally looks like the player the Pirates imagined when they took him with the No. 64 overall pick in 2021.
White, the Pirates’ No. 25 prospect, came into pro ball with the kind of background that makes scouts dream a little bigger. He was a three-sport standout in high school - baseball, basketball and football - and a four-star football recruit headed to Penn State to play on both the gridiron and the diamond. Pittsburgh was betting on the size, speed and upside that made him such a unique name in that draft class, which also included Bubba Chandler.
The problem was getting him on the field.
White’s first full season as a pro in 2022 lasted just two games because of elbow and hamstring injuries. Then in 2023, thumb surgery wiped out the first two months. For a player already trying to adjust to life as a full-time baseball prospect, the constant interruptions made progress hard to build.
"He spent more time on the IL than he did on the field," said Pirates area scout Dan Radcliff, who helped sign White in 2021. "That was a huge setback.
A player needs their at-bats. They need to be on the field so they can get in a rhythm and he just never could."
Radcliff has had an eye on White for years. He first saw him in 2018 while scouting future Dodger Chris Newell at Malvern, and it was the freshman on the same prep team who really jumped out.
"It's like, 'Is that guy Draft-eligible?'" Radcliff said.
"You find out he's a freshman and it's like, 'Oh, boy.' He could throw.
He could run. There was power already.
He was physically bigger than you'd think for a freshman."
Now in his fifth pro season, White is finally stacking up the kind of numbers that match the scouting report. He has played a career-high 104 games, reached Double-A Altoona for the first time and put together a .278/.383/.535 line between High-A and Double-A. He’s also launched 25 home runs and stolen 20 bases, making him the only player in the Pirates’ system so far to lock in a 20/20 season.
"He's profiling to what I thought," Radcliff said. "A guy that can impact the lineup and produce not only with home runs and driving in runs, but also stealing bases and playing defense. Pretty much the five-tool guy that you want."
At 6-foot-2 and 212 pounds, White has the kind of frame that fits the scouting buzz. His speed shows up in the outfield, where he profiles as a plus center fielder, and his raw power plays best to the pull side. He’s also produced three multihomer games in 2026.
There’s still work to do with the bat. White has struck out 132 times against 64 walks this season, a swing-and-miss profile that could be tied to all the lost time earlier in his career, though it may also point to other adjustments ahead.
"This is a young man that when he wanted to do something, he figured it out and did it," Radcliff said. "He's a smart kid. It doesn't take a whole lot for him to figure things out."
That kind of self-starting approach showed up long before baseball became his full-time job. White taught himself how to ride a bike and play the piano when he was younger. Now, he’s taking on the next challenge: turning all that raw ability into something lasting on the diamond.
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Pirates Suddenly Have A Tough Decision On A Forgotten Top Pick
Lonnie White Jr. has gone from an easy-to-forget name in the Pirates system to one worth circling again as the offseason approaches. After years of uneven production, the former top prospect put together a real breakout in 2025, handling both Hi-A and Double-A and finishing with a combined .278/.383/.535 line, plus 25 homers and 20 steals over 105 games. For an organization always balancing patience with roster pressure, that kind of late surge changes the conversation fast.
The question now is less about whether White deserves attention than how the Pirates should protect him from getting away. Adding him to the 40-man roster would be the cleanest way to guard against the Rule 5 Draft, even if a major league call-up still feels premature. It is the sort of decision clubs hate making too early and regret making too late, and Whites rebound has put Pittsburgh right in that awkward middle ground. [Read more 🡒]
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For Pittsburgh, it is a low-risk flier on a player who still has something to prove and a long rehab ahead of him. Fedko will now focus on getting healthy within the Pirates organization, where the hope is that a local kid can turn a difficult setback into a fresh opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Suddenly Have A Bullpen Problem At The Worst Time
The Pirates bullpen took another hit this week when Kirby Yates landed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder impingement, a setback made retroactive to Aug. 31. Pittsburgh responded by summoning rookie right-hander Khristian Curtis from Triple-A Indianapolis, a move that adds an inexperienced arm to a relief corps that suddenly needs answers in a hurry.
Pittsburgh also shuffled the rest of its pitching staff before the series finale against the San Francisco Giants, recalling Wilber Dotel and optioning Evan Sisk back to Indianapolis. Those kinds of moves are never ideal this late in the season, when every inning matters and the margin for error in the bullpen gets smaller by the day. [Read more 🡒]