3 Pirates storylines to follow in the Arizona Fall League

The Arizona Fall League is underway, offering a last look at Pirates prospects before 2025 wraps. We’ll be taking periodic looks at the Salt River Rafters throughout their season, but first, let’s break down three stories to watch.

1. Does Esmerlyn Valdez play himself onto the Pirates’ roster?

Valdez was one of the big risers among Pirates prospects this year, going from a relatively unknown Single-A outfielder at the end of 2024 to one of Double-A Altoona’s top hitters and the organization’s No. 15 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He had a bit of a tough showing in Altoona, but got better as the year progressed and finished with 26 home runs, 25 doubles and an .896 OPS between Altoona and High-A Greensboro.

“He and the hitting coaches in Greensboro did a good job staying grounded with what he needed to do to get to the next level and beyond,” hitting development coordinator Jonathan Johnston said in September. “Getting here [in Altoona], he really realized that and doubled down on the stuff that he’d been doing. He’s settled in nicely.”

Valdez is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this winter if he is not added to the 40-man roster, so the AFL is a final audition to show he is worthy of a spot.

So far, Valdez has been outstanding, homering in his first two games and drawing five walks. It’s a taste of what he can bring -- but he isn’t quite Major League ready yet and the Pirates are going to have to decide if he’s worth rostering knowing he probably won’t be ready until midseason at the soonest, or if they should use the roster spot elsewhere to try to win in 2026. A solid showing in this camp could make that decision a lot easier.

2. Can Jaden Woods rebound?

Woods ended 2024 as the No. 29 prospect in the Pirates’ system and on the upswing, getting the call to Altoona after being a seventh-round pick in 2023. His fastball can get to the mid- to upper-90s and his slider has bite, and he trained part of this offseason with a crew of young Pirates that included guys like Paul Skenes, Jared Jones and Bubba Chandler. Things were looking promising for him to emerge as a quality lefty reliever.

That didn’t happen in 2025. He still had the stuff, but command issues plagued him, especially with two strikes. He did finish with 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings, but he also walked 4.9 per nine and had a 5.81 ERA over 44 games pitched. For someone who has the stuff to be a potential leverage arm in the Majors, it was a disappointing showing.

One poor season isn’t going to derail his career, but he needs to bounce back. A trip to Arizona could be a good start towards accomplishing that. For the wealth of pitching prospects the Pirates have, they are short on power lefties, so there is a niche for him to fill. He already has one scoreless inning under his belt this fall, even if he did surrender a hit and a walk in the process.

3. Will we see more out of an injured pitcher?

The Arizona Fall League can serve plenty of purposes, but at the end of the day, it’s really more baseball. For players that missed a chunk of the season due to injuries, that can help even out their workload and give them extra reps against players who are mostly in the mid- to upper-levels of the Minors.

Of the five pitchers the Pirates sent to Arizona, four missed significant time and could use the innings.

Dominic Perachi is cut from the crafty lefty ilk, mixing spin breaking pitches and a changeup to make up for velocity. He missed the first half of the season due to an elbow issue and didn’t appear in a game until July, and while he won’t come close to the 114 2/3 innings he threw in 2024 (he’s at 50 2/3 now), he can close the gap a bit.

Derek Diamond offers upper-90s stuff, but had a rough go in his 13 appearances this year, allowing 25 earned runs in 19 1/3 innings. Carlson Reed and Joshua Loeschorn both battled back issues this year, but have some very solid breaking balls that could play at the upper levels of the Minors.

There were challenges for all four this year, but they at least have the opportunity to finish on a good note.