PHILADELPHIA -- Pirates rookie Esmerlyn Valdez isn’t hitting like a rookie.
Valdez hammered a two-run homer to left field in the top of the fourth inning against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Monday for his fourth long ball in as many games. His two-run shot spurred the Pirates to eight unanswered runs to flip a five-run deficit to a three-run lead after five innings.
Valdez added a double and two walks en route to an 11-7 win for Pittsburgh. Valdez is the sixth player in MLB history with a four-plus-game home run streak in his first 16 MLB games since at least 1900, and is the first since Bobby Dalbec’s five straight with the Red Sox in 2020. Valdez is the third rookie in Pirates history to homer in four straight games, joining Dick Stuart and Garrett Jones. While Valdez expected to see success in the big leagues, even he has surprised himself.
“It's all a matter of me making an adjustment. I think that's what's happening right now,” Valdez said via Pirates translator Stephen Morales.
Valdez, the Pirates' No. 9 prospect per MLB Pipeline, hit two home runs for his first two MLB hits earlier this season. With Spencer Horwitz on the injured list and Ryan O’Hearn moving from right field to first base, Valdez has earned more opportunities. He’s certainly taken advantage of it. Since being called up for the second time on June 11, Valdez is batting .380 with a 1.368 OPS. Ten of Valdez’s first 13 MLB hits have gone for extra bases.
In the series finale against the Reds on Sunday, Valdez was a triple shy of the cycle. He hit a ground-rule double and blasted a Statcast-projected 461-foot homer in the eighth inning, the seventh-longest in PNC Park history off the bat of a Pirates hitter. Valdez admitted postgame that it was the longest home run of his life, and the best game of his short MLB career thus far.
“I think he's a good hitter,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said Sunday. “He's not just going up there trying to hit homers; he's a good hitter. He got out in front of the breaking ball, hit the ground-rule double, got the base hit up the middle, took the walk, and then when he gets a pitch out over the plate that he can drive, he certainly has the power to do that.”
Many of Pittsburgh’s teammates have been amazed at Valdez’s raw power. Endy Rodríguez joked that he “hates” Valdez because he’s already eclipsed his home run total for the year in far fewer games. Konnor Griffin said Valdez has some of the craziest pop in the Pirates' organization.
Veteran second baseman Brandon Lowe thought that while Valdez’s power is impressive, his two walks later in the game were maybe even more so. After hitting a mammoth home run in his previous at-bat, Valdez shortened up and walked on five pitches in the fifth. With Valdez’s pop and patience, Pittsburgh’s prolific offense can only blossom further.
“He’s been everything that we were told he was going to be,” Lowe said.