Pirates fans should be fired up after 2025 MLB Futures Game roster reveal

The 2025 All-Star Game is only a few weeks away, which means all the festivities that come with the annual event are almost here as well. One of those events is the MLB Futures Game. For those unfamiliar, the Futures Game is a showcase of some of baseball's top prospects in an American League vs. National League showdown. It will take place on July 12 at Truist Park in Atlanta as part of All-Star weekend.

Pirates fans received exciting news on Monday, as Pirates standouts Konnor Griffin and Esmerlyn Valdez were selected as their representatives on the National League roster. Both players will have the opportunity to showcase their abilities against some of the top talent baseball's future has to offer.

Pirates top prospect Konnor Griffin has taken minor league baseball by storm, earns Futures Game roster spot

There was a lot of hype surrounding Konnor Griffin after he was the top high school player selected in the draft a year ago. However, I'm not sure anyone could have forecasted just how good he has been to this point. He's the Pirates' second-ranked prospect right now by MLB Pipeline, and his debut season in professional baseball has shown fans that a Futures Game selection might be the first of many accolades on Griffin's baseball resume.

Griffin opened the season with Low-A Bradenton where he was still only 18, but immediately looked better than his youth suggested. In 231 plate appearances across 50 games, he hit nine home runs on his way to a .932 OPS and a 158 wRC+. Both of those marks rank within the top five among all qualified Low-A hitters to this point in the season.

The 19-year-old's hot start earned him a promotion to High-A Greensboro, where he has arguably been even better. He has only played in 17 games for the Grasshoppers thus far, but he has already hit three home runs while posting a 1.024 OPS and a 187 wRC+. As was the case in Low-A, both of those marks rank within the top five among all High-A hitters (min. 80 PA).

Griffin is one of the most exciting players in the minors, which is why MLB made the right choice in adding him to the roster. He has already stolen 37 bases across both levels, while playing excellent defense at both shortstop and center field. Don't be surprised to see Griffin on a Futures Game highlight reel.

Esmerlyn Valdez and his big bat will be on display in Atlanta

Right alongside Griffin in Greensboro's lineup, and now the National League Futures Game lineup, is Esmerlyn Valdez. The 21-year-old slugger was signed by the Pirates in 2021 out of the Dominican Republic, and emerged as one of the system's top power hitters a year ago in Low-A, where he hit a level-leading 22 home runs.

Fast forward to 2025 and Valdez is well on his way to passing his 2024 home run total, as he already has 20 in over 100 fewer plate appearances. He ranks second in all of minor league baseball in long balls, and he is one of just four hitters 21 years old or younger with at least 15 so far.

Valdez is posting career-highs across the board, forcing the national media to start giving him the recognition he deserves. A Futures Game selection is certainly a good start. His .385 on-base percentage, .592 slugging percentage, .977 OPS, and 171 wRC+ are way up from what was already an impressive 2024, which should earn him a spot on MLB Pipeline's next update of the Pirates' top 30 prospects. Among all qualified hitters in the organization, his OPS and wRC+ rank at the top, even above Griffin, who is the secon-ranked prospect in the system.

Still only 21 years old, Valdez certainly has the pathway in front of him to become one of the top prospects in the game. A big hit at the plate on July 12 could definitely put him on the map. He's the only unranked prospect on the National League roster, so it would be fun to see him turn some heads.