Esmerlyn Valdez goes homerless, singles twice

Valdez has been on a tear since returning to the majors back on June 11, hitting .411 (19-for-46) with four homers and 11 RBI across 15 games. The most encouraging aspect of his recent performance is that he’s struck out just a shade over 25 percent of the time during that span. The 22-year-old projects as a streaky power hitter given his strikeout issues in the upper minors. However, he’s in a groove right now and should continue batting in the heart of Pittsburgh’s lineup. Those factors alone make him a worthy of a speculative roster spot in all fantasy formats.

Valdez’s single up the middle in the first got the Pirates on the board, and his triple scooted under Justin Crawford’s glove in center and pinballed around, staking the Pirates to a 2-1 lead in the fifth. He added a sacrifice fly later in the contest. His expected batting average so far is just .258 -- so his .316 average will likely come down a bit -- but the power is absolutely real and has given him some real fantasy value so far.

Valdez has been moved up to the prime spot in the lineup behind future franchise cornerstone Konnor Griffin as he draws his fifth start in the last six games for Pittsburgh. He’ll attempt to extend his home run streak to a remarkable fifth consecutive game on Tuesday night against Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez at hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park. The power-hitting 22-year-old rookie is going to strike out a bunch, but his over-the-fence pop is extremely real. He was the star of last year’s Arizona Fall League and simply hasn’t stoped demolishing baseballs ever since. He’s shown enough in-game pop and is playing often enough to merit a roster spot in deeper fantasy leagues.

Valdez has homered in four straight games, including in his only at-bat as a pinch-hitter on Saturday against the Reds. Getting more playing time because of Spencer Horwitz’s injury, he’s now 13-for-45 with six homers, even though he has struck out 19 times in his young career. Because of the swing-and-miss issues, he’s probably not going to remain strong enough against righties to keep playing regularly as a 22-year-old rookie. However, this is a lot of fun right now. His homer tonight was hit 411 feet off Aaron Nola, and his other hit was a 111-mphy double versus Tim Mayza.

Valdez has started three of the last four games since Spencer Horwitz (hamstring) landed on the injured list and Ryan O’Hearn started playing more first base. Valdez also had a pinch-hit home run in the one game he didn’t start. In those four games, he’s gone 6-for-12 with three home runs, four RBI, and a 4/1 K/BB ratio. He’s worth an add in deeper formats if he’s going to play this often, especially if your team needs power.

With Spencer Horwitz (hamstring) sidelined, Ryan O’Hearn is likely to be the primary first baseman for the Pirates, which could open up right field at-bats for Valdez. The 22-year-old has gone just 5-for-30 in his 11 MLB games with two doubles, two home runs, and six RBI. He was hitting .255/.388/.526 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI in 56 games at Triple-A and has some intriguing power potential. He remains only an option in NL-only formats in the short-term.

He’s considered day-to-day. Esmerlyn Valdez replaced Reynolds in Friday’s lineup in left field and he’ll bat seventh against Rockies’ left-hander Kyle Freeland.

O’Hearn will get a breather with left-hander Justin Wrobleski toeing the slab for the opposition. Esmerlyn Valdez will start in his place in right field and will bat sixth for the Pirates on Thursday night at PNC Park.

Valdez did get consistent playing time with the Pirates during his recall in May, hitting two homers in five games. That’s about all he did — they were his only two hits. He’ll probably be hard to trust even with consistent playing time, but the power is worth dreaming on in deeper leagues. Shallow league managers should likely just wait and see.

Valdez hit a couple of home runs during his brief stay with the Pirates, but really struggled to make consistent contact. He’ll return to an everyday role at Triple-A until his services are needed once more.