Esmerlyn

Valdez

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.

Valdez clobbered a gargantuan 415-foot moonshot to left-center field against Cubs starter Jordan Wicks to put the cherry on top of Pittsburgh’s five-run explosion in the first inning. The 22-year-old rookie slugger has gone deep twice in four games since being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis last week. He also made a phenomenal throw from deep right field to nail Ian Happ attempting to tag up and advance to third base in the second inning. Valdez projects as an extremely streaky power hitter capable of making a real fantasy impact when he’s in a groove, but he’s probably going to strike out a bit too much in the early stages of his career to be a viable mixed-league contributor.

After going down on strikes in each of his first two at-bats, the 22-year-old outfielder clobbered an 0-1 sweeper from Chase Lee for a 345-foot (94.3 mph EV) two-run shot in the sixth inning that extended the Pirates’ advantage to 4-1. He’s just 1-for-8 (.125) with five strikeouts in his first three games with the Pirates.

Valdez evolved into one of the top prospects in Pittsburgh’s system when he set the Arizona Fall League ablaze last year, launching eight round-trippers in just 19 games. The 22-year-old is an interesting power-oriented prospect for fantasy purposes, but he’ll probably be limited to a lefty-mashing platoon role initially. He’s a streaky hitter and he’ll have some appeal in deeper mixed leagues when he’s in a groove at the plate.

The 22-year-old arrives to the majors having homered five times in his past five games. Valdez has been playing in the outfield corners this season, and Pittsburgh is expected to be without right fielder Ryan O’Hearn (quad) for multiple weeks. Billy Cook was optioned to Triple-A as a corresponding move.

The 22-year-old slugger has hit .253/.381/.506 with 10 homers and 29 RBI in 194 plate appearances at Triple-A Indianapolis this season. It’s extremely unlikely that the Pirates would be promoting him to function in a part-time role, so expect him to see everyday at-bats from the jump. He has intriguing power potential, but no speed to speak of, so his fantasy value will ultimately depend on where he settles in the Pirates’ lineup.

We’re still early enough in spring training that these large batches of cuts don’t usually come with any major surprises. Harrington pitched well in Grapefruit League action, posting a 1.50 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and a 2/3 K/BB ratio over six innings. He should get an opportunity with the Pirates at some point during the 2026 campaign.

Valdez’s slam off Jack Dallas was a 361-foot, opposite-field liner that left his bat at 106.7 mph. An intriguing outfield prospect, Valdez was added to the Pirates’ 40-man roster in November after hitting .286/.376/.520 between High-A and Double-A last year. He’ll likely return to Double-A to open this year, and his chances of getting a look in the second half could hinge on the performance of Jhostynxon Garcia, a rather similar prospect who is clearly ahead of him on the depth chart at this point.

Valdez is the clear headliner on the heels of a transcendent Arizona Fall League campaign where he batted .368/.513/.842 with eight round-trippers in 19 games. The 21-year-old slugger’s emergence gives the Pirates another potential high-impact bat to pair with blue-chip prospects Konnor Griffin and Edward Florentino, who will enter next season among the top-ranked talents in baseball. He’s officially protected from selection in next month’s Rule 5 Draft and should enter next spring as one of the more exciting talents for fantasy managers to monitor in the upper minors.

Valdez has been the talk of the desert this fall, slashing .370/.519/.870 with eight homers and 26 RBI across 18 games. The 21-year-old slugger’s emergence gives the Pirates another potential high-impact bat to pair with blue-chip prospects Konnor Griffin and Edward Florentino, who will enter next season among the top-ranked talents in baseball. Here’s the full lineup: Nick Morabito (CF), Seaver King (2B), Parks Harber (1B), Valdez (RF), Owen Ayers (C), Nacho Alvarez Jr. (3B), Chris Suero (DH), Starlyn Caba (SS) Josh Adamczewski (LF) and Karson Milbrandt (P).