Esmerlyn Valdez kept rewriting the script on July 11, and the Pittsburgh Pirates kept cashing in.
In a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park, Valdez went 4-for-8 with three home runs and eight RBI as Pittsburgh won both games. He delivered in every key moment, starting with an RBI single in the first inning of Game 1, then a two-run homer in the third, and finally a grand slam in the seventh that pushed the Pirates ahead for good in a 7-6 win. He added another two-run shot in the fourth inning of Game 2, helping Pittsburgh grab a 3-2 victory.
That performance made history. According to OptaStats, Valdez became the first player in MLB history to record four go-ahead hits, three go-ahead home runs and a go-ahead grand slam on the same day.
The Pirates have clearly seen enough to keep leaning into the hot streak. After a strong run in late June, Valdez earned the starting right field job and a spot in the fourth slot of the lineup.
He wasted no time setting the tone in the opener. With one swing in the first inning, he punched a sinker through the left side of the Brewers infield and brought home center fielder Jake Mangum from second to make it 1-0.
Then came the bigger damage. In the third inning, Valdez jumped on a cutter from Brewers right-hander Brandon Sproat, driving it 108.1 mph off the bat and 421 feet to center field for a 3-2 lead. The ball landed on the "PIRATES" lawn and flipped the game again.
His biggest swing of the day came in the seventh. With the bases loaded, one out and the Pirates down three, Valdez stayed on a 99.2 mph sinker from Brewers lefty Aaron Ashby and sent it the other way. The ball left his bat at 103.7 mph, traveled 380 feet to right field, and turned into a go-ahead grand slam that sealed the 7-6 win.
He wasn’t done. In the second game, Valdez took advantage of another left-handed pitcher, Shane Drohan, and launched a two-run homer in the fourth inning to put Pittsburgh up 2-0. He waited on a slider that stayed low and cut down, then timed it perfectly and sent it 101.1 mph and 385 feet to left field.
Valdez’s surge has been building for weeks. He opened this stretch with four home runs in four games from June 26-29, becoming one of just six players in MLB history to homer four times in his first 16 at-bats and the first Pirates player to homer in four straight games since Corey Dickerson in July 2018.
Over his past 15 games, he has hit .404/.462/.912 with an OPS of 1.374, collecting 23 hits in 57 at-bats, three doubles, a triple, eight home runs, 20 RBI and seven walks against 19 strikeouts.
For the season, Valdez is batting .311/.370/.722 with an OPS of 1.092 in 27 games. He has 28 hits in 90 at-bats, five doubles, one triple, 10 home runs and 26 RBI.
That production puts him in rare company. Per Just Baseball, Valdez is one of only four players in MLB history to hit 10 or more home runs and 27 or more RBI at 22 years old or younger, joining George Scott of the Boston Red Sox in 1966, Austin Riley of the Atlanta Braves and Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros in 2019.
His bat powered two huge wins and pushed the Pirates to 49-47, giving them a shot at a sweep of the Brewers, a chance to reach 50 wins at the All-Star break and a way to keep their National League Wild Card hopes alive.
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Ruiz and Rembert give the organization two very different looks, but both fit the same broad idea of raising the floor with athletic infield talent. Pittsburgh also kept reshaping the board as the night went on, moving its 34th pick and pitching prospect Jaden Woods to the White Sox for reliever Brandon Eisert and infielder Jacob Gonzalez, a deal that only sharpened the sense that the Pirates were willing to be aggressive if it meant coming away with more middle-infield help. [Read more 🡒]
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Still, this is the kind of pick that will spark an immediate debate in Pittsburgh because Curiels appeal is rooted more in feel for contact and all-around polish than in loud power. Evaluators have generally liked him enough to place him near the top of the class, but the Pirates are betting that his bat-to-ball skill, defensive versatility and championship pedigree will age well as he moves quickly into pro ball. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates No 5 Pick Already Has Fans Debating The Front Office
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The intrigue comes from what he is not as much as what he is. Curiel is not viewed as a big power source, but scouts see a player with strong bat-to-ball skills and a ceiling that has drawn early Christian Yelich comparisons, which is enough to fuel a real debate about how the front office is valuing upside versus certainty. For a Pirates club always looking for impact talent, this is the sort of pick that can look smart in time or become the one fans keep revisiting. [Read more 🡒]