Pirates Top Prospect Earns MVP Honors

Valdez dominated at High-A this season, 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 in Greensboro.

This included two games with two home runs, against the Winston-Salem Dash, the High-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox on May 4, a 3-1 win, and five RBIs in a 12-2 win over the Greenville Drive, the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, on June 21.

His play earned him promotion to Double-A Altoona on July 2, where he has stayed at since.

Valdez led the South Atlantic League in a number of 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.

He also earned a spot at the Futures Game, featuring the best prospects. He and current Altoona teammate Konnor Griffin represented the Pirates, playing for the National League.

Valdez played in 51 games for Altoona, 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.

He got better towards the end of the regular season, including earning 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 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.

Valdez 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.

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.

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 win over the Erie Seawolves, the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, at Peoples Natural Gas Field on Sept. 16.

This is a best-of-three series, and if the Curve win one more game, they'll make the Championship game.

Valdez slashed .286/.376/.520 for an OPS of .896 in 123 games in 2025, with 131 hits, 25 doubles, two doubles, 26 home runs, 86 RBIs and 56 walks to 130 strikeouts.

MLB Pipeline ranks Valdez as the 15th best overall prospect in the Pirates system and he will likely rise in their next re-ranking.