Pirates to promote 22-year-old outfielder with .887 OPS to Majors

The Pittsburgh Pirates are having a fun 2026 season so far, but after a rough weekend series against the Philadelphia Phillies, they needed to get their mojo back. They did so with a series win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Now, the Pirates are at 26-24 and tied with the Cincinnati Reds for last place in the NL Central. They're only 4.5 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers, who are in first place of the division, but this Pirates offense needs to be a bit better going forward.

Fortunately, according to Francys Romero of Beisbolfr.com, the Pirates are set to promote a top prospect, 22-year-old Esmerlyn Valdez, to the big leagues to give their offense a spark.

Pirates to promote Esmerlyn Valdez to MLB

"The Pittsburgh Pirates have called up Dominican prospect OF/1B Esmerlyn Valdez, per sources," Romero reports. "Valdez, 22, is represented by Rimas Sports."

Valdez is one of the Pirates' best prospects, as the 22-year-old outfielder has proven to be a good slugger down in the minors.

This season, he's tearing it up at Triple-A, hitting .253 with an .887 OPS in 46 games with 10 homers, 10 doubles, 29 RBIs, 25 runs scored, and 33 walks with 41 strikeouts.

That walk-to-strikeout ratio is a very encouraging sign for Valdez, as he previously struck out at least 130 times the last two years, with his walk total falling below 60 in both years.

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But this season, he's not only walking more often, but striking out less than he did the last two years. Add in that his power is as good as ever, and there's plenty of reason to be optimistic about Valdez making his big league debut soon.

With Valdez joining the Major League roster, he could fill in at designated hitter over Marcell Ozuna, or he might slide into Ryan O'Hearn's spot in right field since he's on the injured list.

How the Pirates balance Valdez and Jhostynxon Garcia, who is also an outfield prospect recently called up, will be very interesting.

Regardless, the Pirates are bringing on a youth movement this season, as they've now promoted Valdez, the 22-year-old top prospect, in the same week that they promoted Garcia, the 23-year-old top prospect.

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