Pirates Prospect Keeps Homering in Arizona Fall League

Esmerlyn Valdez Keeps Homering in the Arizona Fall League

This marked the fourth home run for Valdez in the Arizona Fall League in just five games played and 12 at-bats.

He hit his most recent home run off of Glendale Desert Dogs right-handed pitcher Hyun-Seok Jang, sending a cutter on the inside out 345 feet, 108.9 mph with a 49 degree launch angle in the previous game on Oct. 14, a solo shot that put them up 2-1 in Salt River's eventual 5-2 win.

Valdez smashed a slider low in the zone off of right-handed pitcher Alex Amalfi, hitting it 108 mph and sending it 425 feet for a solo home run, putting the Rafters up 3-0 in the bottom of the third inning of a 7-3 victory over the Desert Dogs on Oct. 7 in his debut.

He also homered off of Aldonis for his second home run hitting it 114.4 mph and sending it 414 feet n the top of the second inning, putting his team up 1-0 in the second game on Oct. 8, which ended up a 12-3 defeat. 

His performances earned him a spot on the Arizona Fall League Week 1 top performers list. 

Valdez ranks amongst the best hitters in the Arizona Fall League, with the most home runs and one of just three players with multiple home runs. He also leads the Arizona Fall League with 10 walks, a 1.333 slugging percentage and a 1.969 OPS, while ranking second with six runs, third with a .636 on-base percentage.

Esmerlyn Valdez Has Breakout Season in 2025

Valdez had a great campaign in 2025, which earned him the 15th ranking in the Pirates farm system from MLB Pipeline. 

He started at High-A Greensboro in 2025, serving as one of the best prospects in the South Atlantic League. He slashed .303/.385/.592 for an OPS of .977 in 72 games, with 84 hits, 18 doubles, one triple, 20 home runs, 57 RBIs and 31 walks to his 77 strikeouts.

His play earned him promotion to Double-A Altoona on July 2, where he played at the rest of the season.

Valdez led the South Atlantic League in seven statistical categories at the time of his promotion, including hits, home runs, RBIs, batting average, slugging percentage and OPS, plus ranking tied for first in doubles and 11th in on-base percentage, which earned him South Atlantic League MVP honors at the end of the season.

His play also put him in the Futures Game, featuring the best prospects in baseball. He and Altoona teammate Konnor Griffin, the top prospect in baseball, represented the Pirates and played for the National League.

Esmerlyn Valdez Continues Great Play at Double-A

Valdez played in 51 games for Altoona in 2025, slashing .260/.363/.409 for an OPS of .772, with 47 hits in 181 at-bats, seven doubles, one triple, six home runs, 29 RBIs and 25 walks to 53 strikeouts.

This culminated in a strong August in Double-A for Valdez, slashing .311/.407/.522 for an OPS of .929, with 28 hits in 90 at-bats, a double, six home runs, 19 RBIs and 15 walks to 24 strikeouts. It also came after he hit .196 with no home runs in July.

He also earned Eastern League Player of the Week honors for his play against the Harrisburg Senators, the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, Aug. 26-Aug. 31.

Valdez slashed .444/.500/.926 for an OPS of 1.426, with 12 hits in 27 at-bats, a double, four home runs, nine RBIs, two walks to six strikeouts and one hit by pitch. He also scored RBIs in five of the six games and had only one game where he didn't have multiple hits in the series vs. Harrisburg.

He hit two solo home runs on Aug. 29 in the 14-3 win, hit a three-run home run in the 9-2 win on Aug. 30 and also hit a two-run home run in the 10-4 defeat on Aug. 28.

His play bolstered the Curve late in the season, as they won the Eastern League West Division Second Half Title, earning a spot in the playoffs.

Valdez also just set a franchise record for the Curve, driving in five RBIs in an 11-5 comeback, playoff win over the Erie Seawolves, the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, at Peoples Natural Gas Field on Sept. 16.

He finished his 2025 season, slashing .286/.376/.520 for an OPS of .896 in 123 games, 131 hits, 25 doubles, two triples, 26 home runs, 86 RBIs and 56 walks to 130 strikeouts.

The Pirates will need to place Valdez on their 40-man roster to protect from the Rule 5 Draft, but if he keeps playing like this, they'll likely end up doing so.