Connor Wietgrefe Named Indians July Player of Month

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Indians today named left-handed pitcher Connor Wietgrefe as their July Player of the Month after he posted a 4-2 record with a 1.98 ERA (8er/36.1ip), 25 strikeouts and a 0.96 WHIP in six starts. Wietgrefe joins outfielder Ronny Simon (April), right-handed pitcher Antwone Kelly (May) and right-handed pitcher José Urquidy (June) as recipients of the team’s monthly awards this season.

Wietgrefe, 24, made a historic start on July 12 vs. Toledo when he authored a near-perfect outing with just one hit over 8.0 scoreless innings. He did not walk a single batter and struck out six in the Indians’ 5-0 shutout victory. In addition to setting his single-game career high in innings that night, Wietgrefe delivered the longest outing by an Indians pitcher since James Marvel threw 8.0 innings on Oct. 1, 2021, vs. Nashville. From Marvel’s final pitch that night to when Wietgrefe took the mound 1,745 days later, no Indians starter or reliever had gone longer than 7.1 frames in an outing. There have been just three instances when an Indians pitcher tossed 8.0 shutout innings on one hit or fewer since at least 2005, and Wietgrefe is the only pitcher who did not issue a walk.

The southpaw staked claim on the leaderboards in his first full month in Triple-A, ranking among the International League (min. five starts) in wins (T-1st), ERA and WHIP (3rd) and strikeouts (T-5th). Wietgrefe tied for the third-fewest earned runs allowed while throwing more innings and starting more games than any other International League pitcher in July. He stands alone as the Pirates farmhands’ leader in innings pitched through the 2026 season (109.9 ip) and his 20 starts are tied with Indians teammate Noah Davis to lead all Pittsburgh minor leaguers.

Wietgrefe was promoted to Indianapolis on June 25, departing Double-A Altoona amid an 18.0-inning scoreless streak that began on June 7. It stands to be the longest such streak since Hunter Barco set the franchise record with 25.2 scoreless frames in 2025. He earned June Eastern League Pitcher of the Month honors after going undefeated (3-0) with a 0.39 ERA (1er/23.0ip) across four starts.

The Phoenix, Ariz. native was selected by Pittsburgh in the seventh round of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft from the University of Minnesota. Wietgrefe began his professional career with Single-A Bradenton that year, climbed three levels of the Pirates organization in 2025 and made his Triple-A debut on June 25, 2026.