Just one game above .500 in a crowded National League, it’s looking like the Pirates’ true breakout season may have to wait. Nonetheless, the Buccos have shown far more than just flashes through 85 games.
On paper this is evident. Pittsburgh’s offense ranks third in runs scored, and their team ERA is lagging just barely outside the upper-half of the league at #16. Put those together, and you’d expect them to be roughly a top-ten ball club.
Unfortunately, the pieces required for that just haven’t pulled together. They’ve allowed the most unearned runs to score against them, and drop from a .763 OPS with bases empty to a .734 OPS with runners in scoring position.
However, despite the messiness, Pittsburgh fans are enjoying what they’re seeing out at PNC Park. This is in big part due to the Pirates of Tomorrow, the young core that is energizing the franchise’s turnaround, perhaps sooner than expected.
You’ve heard about Konnor Griffin. We all have. Number one prospects draw headlines. But what about the Pirates’ No. 9 prospect Esmerlyn Valdez, who’s just gone deep in a fourth straight game? Or off-the-map utilityman Tyler Callihan, who’s got an .852 OPS to his name?
Pittsburgh’s future starts and ends with Griffin, no doubt. However, the young cast around him cannot be overshadowed.
Meet Esmerlyn Valdez, the man who won’t stop homering
Valdez has always been an enigma of blazing power and poor contact skills. Even in his 2026 prospect report, Valdez was projected a 45-grade hit tool at his peak. For those unfamiliar with the prospect world, 50-grade is MLB average.
However, Valdez was projected a 60-grade power tool, and it’s shown early in his MLB career. Since being recalled on June 11th, Valdez is slugging an absurd .931 across 11 games.
Eight of his eleven hits have gone for extra bases. Four of them over the wall. Now, that is below-average contact/above-average power at its finest.
Esmerlyn Valdez hits one 461 FEET!
Look at where this baseball lands 😳 pic.twitter.com/gHJcOznQAb
— MLB (@MLB) June 28, 2026
At its worst though, Valdez’s booming strikeout rate of 38.0% can plague an offense. In his first MLB stint back in May, nine strikeouts in five games forced Pittsburgh to option him back to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Regardless, even though he struck out in an even 50% of his plate appearances, Valdez still posted a .722 OPS with his slugging capabilities. That .722 OPS legitimately came from just two walks and two homers.
Crazy enough, the MLB average OPS is .718. Given that OPS is widely viewed as the most important common hitting metric, Valdez was actually an above-average player in those five games.
Fast-forward to June, where he’s hitting .379 with an OPS well over 1.000. He’s homered in four straight, a feat that seriously impacts a team’s chances at winning. Suddenly, Valdez looks like a player you wouldn’t even think to send down.
That’s just the enigma that Pittsburgh will have to get used to. It’ll look ugly at times, but the power is simply too elite to deny. Over a longer stretch, Valdez’s numbers will surface and the trust equation will become simpler.
The truth could be that there’s another perennial 30-homer candidate wearing black and gold.
Teaming up with Konnor
The one thing that stands out with Konnor Griffin is talent. Pure athleticism, feel, strength. At first watch, the game just looks like it comes to him naturally.
Regardless, there are still a multitude of issues that Griffin is already facing. In his big league plate appearances this year, he’s chasing more than 90% of qualified hitters do. As a result, he’s striking out 26% of the time, walking just 6.3% of the time.
Even though there’s tons of room to improve, Griffin is already an above-average hitter with elite sprint speed and one of the game’s strongest arms at shortstop.
Most performance models would suggest that he should be a below-average player, at least as a hitter.
Griffin’s pure talent is literally beating the numbers. While he adjusts to the major leagues, his top-tier bat speed, sprint speed, and pure competitive drive have him sitting in a favorable spot. For the year, he’s putting up a .276 average, with five homers and 15 stolen bases.
Konnor Griffin returned to the Pirates lineup in a BIG way 😮 pic.twitter.com/InQsaKwbV9
— MLB (@MLB) June 26, 2026
With a strong second half, Griffin has a chance to go 20-30 in a rookie year that saw him get off to a slow start. Despite possessing issues with whiff, chase, launch angle, and even squaring balls up to his full potential, Griffin could still post a star-caliber season.
The Pirates’ young duo is still adjusting, still finding their footing. Regardless, the pure talent is seeping through, enough to have the pair each playing like above-average hitters.
In some ways, this sort of phenomenon sums up the Pirates’ season. The future is so bright, it’s poking through the end of the tunnel.
The only obstacle down the road will be completing their development. Finding consistency, adjusting, and most importantly, staying healthy.
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