Pirates Minor League Report: Blanco Jr. Shows Big Power With 4 Homers in 2 Games

Not many players in the Pirates’ system have more power than the 6-foot-7, 243-pound Tony Blanco Jr. The 21-year-old showed off that power with High-A Greensboro this weekend by producing back-to-back two-homer games against Bowling Green.

Blanco hit two home runs and drove in three runs in a 7-2 in on Saturday. He followed it up with two homers and four RBI in an 11-5 win on Sunday, his fourth straight games with multiple hits.

Blanco, who won last year’s Arizona Fall League home run derby, has shattered a career-high with 23 home runs in 70 games with Greensboro this season. His seven home runs this month are tied for the league lead.

Here are some other recent performances and trends worth noting in the Pirates organization.

Outfield prospect Mitch Jebb had multiple hits in three straight games to end the week against Louisville. The last of those games was a two-homer, four-RBI performance on Sunday, pushing his on-base streak to five games. After not hitting a home run in 2025, the 24-year-old now has six in 31 games with Indianapolis this year.

Outfielder Joshua Palacios had six hits in six games and also drove in three runs this week. The 31-year-old is batting .333 with six doubles, 14 RBI, four steals and more walks (seven) than strikeouts (five) in 15 games this month.

Right-hander Thomas Harrington pitched six-shutout innings on Wednesday and has totaled 11-scoreless innings over his last two starts.

Outfielder Will Taylor is batting .400 (10 for 25) with a triple, a home run and three RBI in his last seven games. The 23-year-old ranks seventh in the Eastern League this month with a .328 batting average.

Fellow outfielder Travis Dumitru is batting .417 (10 for 24) with three doubles, a triple and five RBI in his last six games. Combined between games against Binghamton on Wednesday and Thursday, the 23-year-old had six hits and five RBI.

Pirates pitching prospect Reinold Navarro shined in his Greensboro debut against Bowling Green on Friday. The left-hander struck out eight batters and allowed one run on one hit with one walk in five innings. He ranks first among all Pirates minor-leaguers this season with 125 strikeouts.

Outfielder Edward Florentino hit a grand slam for his 20th High-A home run in Greensboro’s win over Bowling Green on Sunday. The 19-year-old had five hits, eight RBI and six runs in five games last week.

Emerging infield prospect Wyatt Sanford continued to impress last week. The 20-year-old hit .375 (9 for 24) with two doubles and two home runs for the Grasshoppers.

Third base prospect Brent Iredale extended his on-base streak to 18 games and has homered in each of his last two contests. During his current streak, the 23-year-old is batting .300 with a 1.130 OPS, five doubles, six home runs and 11 RBI.

Second baseman Chris Rembert, who was selected by the Pirates with the 51st pick in this year’s draft, is riding a six-game hit streak. During that time, the 21-year-old is batting .360 (9 for 25) with two doubles and two RBI.

Catcher Richard Ramirez had his second multi-homer game of the season against Jupiter on Wednesday. The 21-year-old hit two homers and drove in a season-high five runs in that game and now ranks fourth in the league with 17 homers this year.

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