Esmerlyn Valdez
- Winter Plan starts at RF · 344 PA · 1.7 WAR in the role
- Injured list 2026: Left hamstring strain (Sep 12–Sep 28)
- PNC Park Pittsburgh’s home park: −3.7 runs per 600 PA against an average park (−0.22 wins over 344 PA; his WAR leaves this out); home runs ×0.79 (×0.77 for right-handed hitters as a group). Park Fit →
Development · trends & plan
Tracked levels only. Monthly values; gaps mark the offseason. The number beside each line is its last month, with that month’s sample (faded under 50 PA or 150 pitches), not the season.
Plan for 2027
- 1 Health medical first Medical clearance before any development work
Left hamstring strain (10-day IL, Sep 12–Sep 28, 2026); 0 games after it. Every other goal on this plan starts after the medical staff clears him.
Health & Workload - 2 Contact high ask Make more contact on strikes
Zone contact 67% (1st percentile), and his contact costs −0.23 runs per 100 swings. With no plan it tends to come back toward the median (about 71% next year); the target beats that.
Zone contact: 67% target 73% no plan ≈ 71% ≈0.8 runs/season (what his contact costs a season vs. an average hitter at his 2027 plate appearances, on the Hitting Lab’s regressed value) Check at the end of the 2027 season · noise then ±2% Hitting Lab
Each goal is checked when his sample can tell the target from noise: the 2027 All-Star break if it can by then, else season’s end or the sample it needs; if no single season can, it’s a lean. Coach card
Trends · MLB
Hitting · 2026
285 PA: percentiles need 300+, so values only
Platoon splits · swing path
By pitcher handedness
| vs | PA | wOBA | xwOBA | K% | BB% | Chase | Decisions | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | 111 | .428 | .370 | 34% | 19% | 21% | +1.60 | +0.31 |
| RHP | 174 | .330 | .304 | 40% | 11% | 21% | +1.67 | −0.53 |
- Attack angle
- 15.6° (53% in 5–20°)
- Attack direction
- +2.0°
- Swing length
- 7.9 ft
- Fast-swing rate
- 46%
- Pull-air %
- 19.3%
- Hard-hit %
- 48.9%
- Slash · wRC+
- .232/.345/.510 · 130
Zone map · 2026
Where he does damage, and where to pitch him
Does the most damage middle-away (+3.0 vs. league per 100; 1.3 standard errors on 69 pitches, inside the noise for the best of nine cells).
Weakest middle-in (−1.9), but only 0.8 standard errors from average on 61 pitches: no in-zone spot to attack yet.
Runs per 100 pitches vs. an average RHB: better · worse. Catcher’s view · 1,147 pitches · faded cells are within one standard error of average. A spot is called only when it is farther from average than the best or worst of nine average cells gets 95% of the time (set from the league’s own pitches: about 3 standard errors above, 2 below).
Most similar hitters
Swings like Valdez: bat path, contact quality and approach
| Similarity | Player | xwOBA | ’26 WAR | ’27 proj | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | Munetaka Murakami CWS · ’00 | .351 | 2.9 | 2.2 | Signed $17.5M |
| 26 | Nick Kurtz ATH · ’03 | .374 | 2.6 | 3.3 | Pre-arb |
| 20 | Aaron Judge NYY · ’92 | .398 | 2.0 | 3.6 | Signed $40.0M |
| 15 | Rhys Hoskins CLE · ’93 | .297 | −0.4 | −0.2 | Free agent |
| 15 | Taylor Trammell HOU · ’97 | .287 | 0.0 | −0.1 | Arb |
Nearest neighbours on bat speed, swing length, attack angle, squared-up and blast rates, EV90, barrels, pull-air, chase, zone contact, K% and BB%. 2026 regulars only.
Fielding
2027 rating at every position he can play · OAA by position · range by direction · tools. Same engine as the Fielding Lab and the Winter Plan.
| Season | Pos | OAA | Range | Arm, DP | Runs | Batters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | LF | 0 | 0 | −0.4 | −0.4 | 223 |
| 2026 | RF | +2 | +2 | −3.9 | −1.9 | 2,201 |
Runs = range plus his arm and double-play runs spread over his positions by outs (Fielding Run Value, from 2023): what the rating counts.
| Play | Made | Chances | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★★★ | 0 | 12 | 0% |
| ★★★★ | 1 | 2 | 50% |
| ★★★ | 8 | 9 | 89% |
| ★★ | 7 | 8 | 88% |
| ★ | 12 | 12 | 100% |
| Season | Zone | Balls | Outs vs. exp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | RF | 204 | −1.8 |
The zone rating counts every ball hit to his part of the field while he played there, his club’s positioning included; Savant OAA uses his actual starting spot and is the better individual grade. They agree best in the outfield. See the model card.
Contract & projection
Club control (RosterResource) · Keystone projected WAR
* projected arbitration or minimum salary. Contract Studio →
Minor leagues
MLB Stats API · public box-score data
| SeasonLevel | Level | Team | Age | G | PA / IP | PA / IP ·Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026AAA | AAA | Indianapolis Indians | 22 | 56 | 237 PA | 237 PA · .255/.388/.526 · 13 HR · 21.5% K · 17.3% BB |
| 2025A+ | A+ | Greensboro Grasshoppers | 21 | 72 | 314 PA | 314 PA · .303/.385/.592 · 20 HR · 24.5% K · 9.9% BB |
| 2025AA | AA | Altoona Curve | 21 | 51 | 215 PA | 215 PA · .260/.363/.409 · 6 HR · 24.7% K · 11.6% BB |
FanGraphs: FV 45 · ETA 2026. Public pitch tracking exists only at Triple-A and some Florida State League parks; where he has it, the development panel above shows it.
ABS challenges · 2026
Baseball Savant