Copyright yardbarker
One of the main positive takeaways from the time Ben Cherington has been the Pittsbugh Pirates‘ general manager has been the way they’ve developed talented arms all throughout the system. Up until this season, they hadn’t seen the same results with their offensive talent. Prior to the 2025 season, the biggest question facing the Pirates’ system was their lack of impactful hitting prospects, as the majority of their top-end talent was on the mound. This totally changed during the season, with their offensive prospects taking massive leaps forward across the board. While the majority of attention was given to Just Baseball’s number two prospect, Konnor Griffin, outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez‘s season slipped through the cracks. After being relatively unknown coming into the season, Valdez quietly had one of the most underrated offensive seasons in the minors this season. Of course, with a breakout of this magnitude, fans naturally began to wonder how high his ceiling really was, and where he fit in the Pirates’ plans. These questions aren’t the easiest to answer, as hitters in the system usually run into some trouble adjusting to Triple-A pitching and when they eventually join the major league club. Valdez barely spent 50 games at Double-A this year, meaning his largest challenges still loom ahead. Taking this out of the equation, the 2025 season has been massive for Valdez, as he went from an unknown slugger to one of the most intriguing pieces of this farm system in the span of a few months. Let’s dive into his 2025 season and attempt to get an idea of the type of player Valdez could be moving forward. Valdez’s Offensive Breakout After slugging 22 home runs while posting a 130 wRC+ through 107 games at Low-A last season, the Pirates decided Valdez was ready for a promotion. They sent Valdez to High-A Greensboro following Spring Training, and he didn’t waste much time making his impact felt. The 21-year-old only lasted 72 games at the level, as he dominated nearly every pitcher he saw. He slashed .303/.385/.592 with 20 home runs and a 176 wRC+ during his stint at High-A, taking strides forward in nearly every area of his game. He was even named the South Atlantic League MVP despite playing only 72 games in the league. While his power increase looks impressive on the surface, it’s important to remember that the Greensboro Grasshoppers play in one of the most hitter-friendly environments in the minors. Prospects in the system often see inflated power numbers in High-A before taking a step backwards once they reach Double-A. For Valdez, his power numbers weren’t the area that caught my attention the most, as his plate discipline drastically improved. For example, Valdez honed in his approach, cutting his strikeout numbers down by large margins. His strikeout rate fell from 30.6% the year prior, to 24.5% during this 72-game stint. As if his strikeout numbers weren’t a huge indication of the steps he’d taken forward in his approach, his OBP and wOBA both took huge steps forward as well. His OBP jumped over 30 points, and his wOBA saw a drastic, 64-point improvement. Overall, despite the hitter-friendly environment raising questions about Valdez’s true strides forward offensively, his plate discipline improvements were enough to show me that this version of Valdez wasn’t a fluke, and he proved that once he was promoted to Double-A Altoona. During his time in Altoona, Valdez continued his dominance. He slashed .260/.363/.409 with six homers and a 126 wRC+ during his 51 games at Double-A. Valdez also earned himself a trip to the Future’s Game shortly after his promotion, a much-deserved nod considering how he hit up to that point. One of the biggest takeaways from Valdez’s time in Altoona was how he held onto his plate discipline improvements. While his OBP and wOBA took small steps backward, his strikeout rate only increased by 0.2% while his walk rate spiked to 11.6%.
