Pirates Prospect Esmerlyn Valdez Starts MLB Career With Historic Home Run Streak

Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Esmerlyn Valdéz has been making plenty of noise at the plate in the majors over the last few days.

Valdéz, Pittsburgh's No. 9 prospect for 2026 on MLB Pipeline, went 2-for-3 with two walks, two RBIs, and two runs scored for the Pirates on Monday. Most notably, though, the 22-year-old crushed a two-run homer in the Pirates' 11-7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. The righty-swinging slugger got a hanging curveball from the Phillies' Aaron Nola and drilled it 411 feet to left field with an exit velocity of 103.4 mph.

With his home run on Monday, Valdéz has now launched a long ball in four consecutive games. That makes him just the sixth player since 1900 to homer in at least four straight contests through the first 16 games of his big league career, according to the official MLB account on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Esmerlyn Valdéz is making the most of his latest opportunity with the Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Esmerlyn Valdez — Jun 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez (55) circles the bases on a solo home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the eighth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Valdéz was first called up for his MLB debut toward the end of May. In five games with the Pirates last month, the 22-year-old went 2-for-16 at the plate. Both of those hits, though, left the yard. The young outfielder was then optioned back to Triple-A on May 28 before returning to the big leagues on June 11. And now, the 6-foot-2 slugger is seeing more overall offensive success in his second stint in the majors, especially of late.

Ahead of Pittsburgh's next clash with the Phillies on Tuesday, Valdéz is now hitting .379 (11-for-29) in 11 big league games this month to go along with his four homers over the last four days. In total, the young prospect has a .289 batting average, a .360 on-base percentage, and a 1.138 OPS with six home runs and 12 RBIs over the first 16 games of his MLB career.

The Pirates clearly like what they've seen from Valdéz lately, so much so that they've bumped him up to second in Tuesday's batting order behind shortstop Konnor Griffin. But both rookies face a difficult matchup in Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez, who's one of the current contenders for this year's National League Cy Young Award. That'd make it even more impressive if Valdéz extends his home run streak to five consecutive games.

Add us as a preferred source on Google