{"id":673262,"date":"2026-04-11T12:39:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T12:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/673262\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T12:39:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T12:39:39","slug":"pirates-have-another-prospect-pushing-for-mlb-call-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/673262\/","title":{"rendered":"Pirates Have Another Prospect Pushing for MLB Call-Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

PITTSBURGH \u2014 The Pittsburgh Pirates gave shortstop Konnor Griffin his MLB debut just last week, but there’s another top propsect that is looking to join him some time this year.<\/p>\n

Outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez had a breakout season in 2025, earning a spot on the 40-man roster, and is continuing that great play in 2026 with Triple-A Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

He has slashed .268\/.455\/.537 for an OPS of .992 in 13 games, with 11 hits in 41 at-bats, two doubles, three home runs, six RBI and an impressive 14 walks to nine strikeouts. <\/p>\n

It’s a great start for the 22-year old, who has a bat that the Pirates would love in the near future, hitting home runs into the left field bleachers at PNC Park.<\/p>\n

Looking at Esmerlyn Valdez’s Start at Triple-A Indianapolis<\/p>\n

Valdez wasn’t going to make the Pirates Opening Day roster, as he earned a spot on the 40-man roster mostly due to him serving as a potential selection in the Rule 5 Draft<\/a>, which the team prevented last November.<\/p>\n

He had only played 51 games at Double-A Altoona to finish off 2025, before starting 2026 with Indianapolis and playing as well as he has is a good sign for things to come.<\/p>\n

Valdez leads Indianapolis with home runs, with two of the them coming in back-to-back games vs. Louisville on April 8 and April 9.<\/p>\n

He led all Pirates minor leaguers with 26 home runs in 2025, with 20 home runs coming in 72 games at High-A Greensboro, and could look to achieve that again this year.<\/p>\n

\"Pittsburgh<\/p>\n

Nov 9, 2025; Mesa, AZ, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez during the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Maybe the most impressive part of Valdez’s game so far is his plate discipline, with 14 walks to nine strikeouts. <\/p>\n

His 14 walks ranks second in the International League and is a continuation of his play from the Arizona Fall League, where he had 19 walks to 12 strikeouts, earning AFL Offensive Player of the Year<\/a> honors.<\/p>\n

It’s a big change from his past two season, with 56 walks to 130 strikeouts in 2025 and 59 walks to 133 strikeouts in 2025.<\/p>\n

Valdez has also rated well on Prospect Savant<\/a>, ranking high in most hitting categories, showing great bat speed and power so far, which is promising for the rest of the campaign.<\/p>\n

Where Esmerlyn Valdez Fits in Pirates Team in 2026<\/p>\n

The Pirates will most likely want to see Valdez continue hitting the way he has in Triple-A for the remainder of the season, but there’s a chance he could make his MLB debut in 2026 too.<\/p>\n

Valdez gives the Pirates a right-handed power bat, something they’re looking for, as Oneil Cruz<\/a>, Brandon Lowe<\/a> and Ryan O’Hearn are left-handers and Bryan Reynolds is a switch-hitter that is mostly hitting left-handed.<\/p>\n

Griffin should provide the Pirates that power they desire from the right side, but is still adjusting to major league pitching as a 19-year old.<\/p>\n

\"Pittsburgh<\/p>\n

Apr 7, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin (6) hits a two run single against the San Diego Padres during the eighth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Designated hitter Marcell Ozuna<\/a>, who the Pirates signed for $12 million this offseason, has just two hits in 35 at-bats for a .059 batting average and hasn’t served as the right-handed power bat so far.<\/p>\n

Valdez can also play outfield if the Pirates need, mostly as a right fielder, or even first base, if they need him to fill different positions. <\/p>\n

If Valdez can keep up the strong performances, he may give the Pirates a tough decision for as to when they finally call him up <\/p>\n

Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PITTSBURGH \u2014 The Pittsburgh Pirates gave shortstop Konnor Griffin his MLB debut just last week, but there’s another…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":673263,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2402],"tags":[5,4,10,776,64,4297],"class_list":{"0":"post-673262","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-pirates","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-pirates","11":"tag-pittsburgh","12":"tag-pittsburgh-pirates","13":"tag-pittsburghpirates"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116386123300124189","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=673262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/673263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=673262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=673262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=673262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}