Dominoes or the baseball diamond, it doesn’t matter. Yordany and Johan De Los Santos are a package deal, full of energy, the brothers sharing a bond tracing back to their father, Johany.
“We love to play dominoes together,” Yordany said at Pirate City last week at the Forge High Performance Camp. “We’re on the same team every time. But whether it’s dominoes or baseball, we’re always trying to help each other.”
COMPLETE PIRATES PROSPECT COVERAGE
There are a few key lessons Johany De Los Santos taught his older boys, as well as 13-year-old Jason, who perhaps one day could become the third member of the family to sign with the Bucs.
Work hard. Be a good teammate. Stay humble. Respect the game.
It’s hard to imagine Johany De Los Santos emphasizing better traits to Yordany and Johan, which is one of several reasons why the brothers are appreciated so much within the organization.
“They have great parents,” said Pirates director of coaching and player development Michael Chernow. “The work ethic, the character of both of them … they obviously have a very tight bond. You see them together all the time.
“They’re completely different players, but the principles instilled in them at a very young age will help make them successful.”
Their insatiable work ethic actually came up last month when Yordany and Johan learned more about the camp’s format.
Unlike previous iterations, it focused more — at least early — on baseball-adjacent skills like mindfulness, visualization, breathing, strength and conditioning and recovery.
The break from hitting and fielding was intentional, to demonstrate how strong off-field habits could positively impact performance, but the De Los Santos boys wanted to hit. Because that’s what they do.
“Trying to explain to Yordany why for two weeks of this camp we weren’t going to be hitting was foreign to him,” Chernow said with a laugh. “He was like, ‘I need to work.’ I said, ‘Believe it or not, scaling back a little bit and not taking 1,000 swings a day is OK at different times.’
“But both of them are really strong character kids. They’re great influences in any locker room and obviously very talented.”
Let’s start there with Johan, who might have the higher pedigree of the two, signing with the Pirates for $2.25 million in January 2025 as the 23rd-ranked international prospect during that signing period.
Johan had a terrific debut later that year, hitting .353 with a .911 OPS in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League, and he transferred that success to the Rookie-level Florida Complex League and Single-A Bradenton in 2026, putting him ahead of schedule considering he only turned 18 in July.
In 52 combined games with the FCL Pirates and Marauders, Johan De Los Santos hit .270 with 39 stolen bases and had more walks (27) than strikeouts (24). In 96 games as a pro, the left-handed hitter has a .304 average and .813 OPS, with 73 steals and seemingly enough athletic ability to handle shortstop.
There’s a reason Johan -- who was recently named the Pirates’ Rookie-level Player of the Year -- has transitioned seamlessly to pro ball.
“[Yordany] has helped me so much,” Johan said, with mental performance coach Jose Correlas translating. “He’s my older brother. I always look up to him. Seeing all the things he’s gone through, the struggles and victories he’s had with the Pirates, he’s helped me learn.
“I’m proud of being with him in the same place, with the same team. It’s not something that’s very common.”
Yordany, meanwhile, has had a winding development journey — but has obviously used the lessons to help his younger brother.
After signing for $1.2 million as the 12th-ranked prospect in the 2022 international class, Yordany De Los Santos did not have much success with Single-A Bradenton from 2023-24.
The physical tools were there, but Yordany chased too much, struggled to hit offspeed stuff and couldn’t find much consistency in his performance. But starting in 2025, that began to change. Yordany did a better job sticking to his plan at the plate and remained under control when he did swing.
After producing an OPS in affiliated ball from 2023-25 that did not exceed .699, that number jumped to .812 this past season, with 19 home runs, 68 RBIs and 79 runs scored.
Yordany, who’s listed at 6-foot-1 and swings from the right side, stole 45 bases to lead all Pirates Minor Leaguers and became the organization’s Omar Moreno Baserunner of the Year.
“I think it was my consistency,” Yordany said. “I think that’s the most important thing for me now and the next few years. Be consistent and get better every day.”
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.