With his home run on Monday, Vald\u00e9z 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<\/a> on X, formerly known as Twitter. <\/p>\n Esmerlyn Vald\u00e9z is making the most of his latest opportunity with the Pirates 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<\/p>\n Vald\u00e9z was first called up for his MLB debut toward the end of May. In five games with the Pirates<\/a> 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. <\/p>\n Ahead of Pittsburgh’s next clash with the Phillies on Tuesday, Vald\u00e9z 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. <\/p>\n The Pirates clearly like what they’ve seen from Vald\u00e9z lately, so much so that they’ve bumped him up to second in Tuesday’s batting order behind shortstop Konnor Griffin<\/a>. But both rookies face a difficult matchup in Phillies ace Cristopher S\u00e1nchez, who’s one of the current contenders for this year’s National League Cy Young Award<\/a>. That’d make it even more impressive if Vald\u00e9z extends his home run streak to five consecutive games. <\/p>\n![\"Pittsburgh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01kwd2jbqk0hnqxskkpb.jpg\" "\\"Pittsburgh")
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