Friday, July 31

Welcome to a new edition of the Pirates Beat newsletter. Pittsburgh is in the middle of an eight-game homestand against divisional foes Cincinnati and Milwaukee.

CINCINNATI -- Pirates scout Victor Santana first remembers seeing Esmerlyn Valdez in 2017 in Baní, near the southern coast of the Dominican Republic.

Santana was scouting older players at the time, but the 13-year-old Valdez caught his attention. A key part of Valdez’s game quickly stood out.

"The bat, the bat, the bat, the bat, the bat, the bat. No doubt, the bat," Santana repeated.

Before “The Magician” became one of the top young power hitters in baseball, he was a kid from San Juan de la Maguana with a dream. After Santana discovered Valdez, the Pirates recorded their first official scouting report on him on March 9, 2019, in Davie, Florida, when Valdez was 15 years old. The Pirates signed him to a $130,000 deal two years later. 

Now, Pittsburgh is reaping the benefits as he’s become a star amid a playoff push. Valdez, the team’s cleanup hitter, entered Thursday with 14 home runs in 40 games while posting a 1.043 OPS.

“He's almost the same,” Santana said of what he saw in 2017 compared to what the world sees now. “I hope that nobody ever touches him.”

Years before signing with Pittsburgh, Valdez was forced to make a sacrifice. Wilkin Ramírez was finishing up his professional career in the United States and returned home to start a baseball academy.

Ramírez recruited Valdez to move away from his family in San Juan to his academy in Baní. While the decision was difficult, Valdez wanted to become a Major Leaguer. Ramírez was just the man to help.

“It was tough leaving the house so young and it hurt to be away from my family,” Valdez said through interpreter Stephen Morales. “I used to make up headaches, that way they could send me home. 

“But at some point, I realized that I’m here for a purpose and I was trying to be a good baseball player and that was my way to support my family in the future, and that’s when it all changed. A million times it was worth it.”

At the time, Valdez was still developing his body. Ramírez said his arms would stretch past his knees, but still, he saw Valdez developing into a Major League slugger with the right guidance.

When Santana first saw Valdez, the hitting mechanics were already well beyond his years. His natural approach was to push the ball the other way. Former Pirates international scouting director Junior Vizcaino and now-vice president Max Kwan saw it during that Florida workout in 2019.

Kwan recalls Valdez hitting every fastball he saw. And though he always showcased power in games, Valdez was harder to scout because he wasn’t a good batting practice hitter. He felt the batting cage around him and it made him feel tight.

Santana said in some batting practice sessions, Valdez would swing and miss at more than half the pitches. But Santana described him as a “different animal” when performing in competition. Pittsburgh quickly knew it wanted to sign the young phenom, who had grown to 6-foot-1 at that point.

“It's exactly why we do the job,” Kwan said of seeing Valdez’s success. “ … Any way we're able to contribute to the Major League team, at the end of the day, is exactly why we're doing what we're doing. To see what Esmerlyn is doing is exceptionally rewarding.”

With Valdez’s MLB success, Santana said he sees nearly the same mechanics and mindset as he saw almost a decade earlier. Valdez feels he reached another level once he entered the organization.

“Definitely, I unlocked my power here with the Pirates,” Valdez said. “All of the camps I came to – strength and conditioning camps made me stronger.”

Once Valdez was added to the 40-man roster last November, Ramírez decided to go to Spring Training to help him prepare for the final step before the Major Leagues. Valdez eventually received his first callup on May 22. He homered in his third game but ultimately struggled, hitting .125 in 16 at-bats before being sent back down. 

It was then that Valdez said he reclaimed his joy for the game and realized he belonged. After his second callup on June 11, he hit .406 with a 1.378 OPS in June.

Pitchers continue to adjust to Valdez, and he’s punched back, playing what manager Don Kelly describes as the “cat-and-mouse” game. Ramírez believes Valdez can be even better than the product we’ve already seen. 

The pair still speaks two or three times a day, and Ramírez recently saw Valdez play in person in the Bronx. He’ll be in Pittsburgh to see Valdez face the Mets from Aug. 7-9.

“I want him to be that guy that hits .300 with 40 homers and 100 RBIs,” Ramírez said. “ … Baseball has changed, and players hitting .215 with 40 homers and 100 RBIs -- that's the player that makes money. But if you can do the same thing with a .300 average, you’ve got a special player.”

For Santana, he’s not surprised at the power Valdez has displayed because he saw it back in Baní in 2017. Though even he can admit the historical start was unpredictable.

“I can't say that, because I know I'm a good scout, but I could not imagine this,” Santana said. “But I knew he had the courage to do this and more. He had the passion to do this and more.”

The Pirates entered play on Friday two games back of the Diamondbacks and Phillies for the final NL Wild Card spot in their bid to end the second-longest postseason drought in the Majors. That push could be impacted by any potential moves ahead of Monday’s Trade Deadline.

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