Overview
- Valdez hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning on June 29 at Citizens Bank Park, marking his fourth straight game with a homer and his sixth long ball in 16 career major-league games.
- That fourth-inning shot pulled the Pirates back into the game and helped ignite an eight-run swing that turned a 5-0 deficit into an 11-7 comeback victory over the Phillies.
- Statcast recorded a 461-foot homer by Valdez in the series finale at PNC Park the previous day, a blast MLB said was the longest of his life and among the longest by a rookie at that ballpark.
- Valdez’s early MLB hits have skewed to power—ten of his first 13 hits were for extra bases—and his recent adjustment after a slow start has lifted his batting line to roughly .289 in the coverage.
- Manager Don Kelly has praised Valdez’s approach at the plate, and the team has given him more playing time with injuries to Spencer Horwitz and Oneil Cruz, a shift that could strengthen Pittsburgh’s lineup down the stretch.