The Pittsburgh Pirates today named Esmerlyn Valdez the organization’s Willie Stargell Slugger of the Year. The announcement was made by Director of Coaching and Player Development Michael Chernow.
The 21-year-old Valdez hit a combined .286 (131-for-458) with 25 doubles, two triples, 26 home runs, 86 RBI, a .376 on-base percentage, a .520 slugging percentage, an .896 OPS and 75 runs scored in 123 games split between High-A Greensboro and Double-A Altoona in 2025.
Valdez’ 26 home runs were the most among all Pirates minor leaguers and the third-most in all of Minor League Baseball among players 21 years old or younger, trailing only Seattle’s Lazaro Montes (32) and New York (NL)’s Ryan Clifford (29).
Valdez was named the South Atlantic League’s Most Valuable Player despite being promoted to Double-A on July 1. He ended the season ranked first in the league in slugging (.592), second in both home runs (20) and extra-base hits (39), fourth in total bases (164) and 10th in RBI (57).
Valdez comes into today ranked as Pittsburgh’s No. 15 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline (No. 22 by Baseball America).
Valdez is currently participating in the Arizona Fall League, where he ranks first in home runs (eight), slugging (1.281), OPS (1.941), runs scored (16), extra-base hits (nine) and total bases (41), while also ranking tied for first in walks (16), second in both batting (.500) and OBP (.660), third in RBI (18) and tied for eighth in hits (16).
Valdez was signed by the Pirates as a non-drafted free agent on January 15, 2021.