MILWAUKEE — A magical July for Esmerlyn Valdez made the Pirates right fielder’s first MLB award appear, as he was named the National League’s Rookie of the Month on Monday.
Valdez led all rookies in home runs (eight), total bases (54), slugging percentage (.587) and extra-base hits (14) in the month. He also had a .942 OPS, which ranked third among rookies who played at least 14 games.
Just three Pirates rookies have met or exceeded that home run total in a single month since Dick Stuart had eight dingers in August 1958. Andrew McCutchen (August 2009) and Jack Suwinski (June 2022) both posted eight-homer months, two shy of Garrett Jones’ incredible July 2009.
After returning to the big leagues on June 11, Valdez endured four hitless games before catching fire in Colorado, homering four times and finishing with eight extra-base hits over his final eight games of June.
That top-level performance continued and got even better in July, as Valdez became one of just six Major Leaguers since 1920 to produce 14 home runs and 36 RBIs in his first 37 career contests.
Furthermore, Valdez had 25 RBIs in July, tied with Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart for the most in MLB.
“This is a player who has continued to improve,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday on the Pirates Insider Show on 93.7 The Fan. “We’ve taken the feedback he’s gotten and done something with it. I think we’re seeing that at the Major League level, too.
“I think we’re seeing adjustments inside of the Major League season from him, which generally is a good indicator of things to come. We also know him well enough now. He’s a really good person and teammate, and he cares. He’s willing to work hard and make adjustments. He has quickly become a big part of the core of that team.”
In addition to the power numbers, Valdez finished with 15 walks in July, tying him with San Francisco's Bryce Eldridge for the lead among Major League rookies. It's been an impressive part of his game and something that Cherington and manager Don Kelly have talked about a lot with Valdez: his mature plate discipline.
Valdez has a 14.0% walk rate through 44 games, which ties Bryan Reynolds for the team lead among Pirates with at least 150 plate appearances. He doesn't chase often. And when he does, like Cherington referenced, he's usually able to recognize and make an adjustment quickly.
"I think it’s the professionalism of the at-bats," Pirates manager Don Kelly said of Valdez. "He’s not going up there necessarily trying to hit the home runs. He’s going up there to hit, and he has the power to leave anywhere in the yard."
Just think, too: Valdez only experienced his first full season of affiliated ball in 2024. But last season in the Minors, as he grew up in a hurry, Valdez reached Double-A Altoona and produced some impressive numbers: .286 average, .896 OPS, 26 home runs, 25 doubles and 86 RBIs in 123 games.
That success continued into the Arizona Fall League, too, where Valdez was the AFL’s best offensive player, producing a .368 average and eight home runs — several of them moonshots — in 19 games.
“It’s been really impressive what he’s been able to do in such a short amount of time,” Kelly said of Valdez, who had seven home runs in an eight-game span from July 9-20.
“The way he gets after it every day, the adjustments he’s made and the changes he’s made so far have been really impressive.”
The month of July for Valdez also included an injury scare, as he left the Pirates' game on July 27 when he was hit in the left wrist by a pitch in the bottom of the fourth inning.
However, imaging done that night came back negative. The same for the next day, allowing Valdez to remain in the lineup.
According to OptaStats, Valdez also became the first Pirate to lead or tie for the Major League lead in RBIs in a month since Josh Bell did so with 31 in May 2019.
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.