Pirates offensive struggles are exposing an unfair Esmerlyn Valdez reality

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Surprise Rookie of the Year candidate Esmerlyn Valdez has gone cold.

Since the All-Star break, the Pirates outfielder is hitting .157/.368/.371 with four home runs in 23 games. The slump is less an indictment of Valdez than of the Pirates, whose unbalanced lineup has put undue pressure on the young slugger.

Valdez is one of the few right-handed bats in the Pirates’ day-to-day lineup. Four players (Jake Mangum, Bryan Reynolds, Endy Rodríguez, and Ronny Simon) are switch-hitters, but each of them tends to be better from the left side of the plate. Henry Davis, Rafael Flores Jr., Jared Triolo, and Jhostynxon Garcia are all righties, but I wouldn’t count on any of them to ignite the offense.

That leaves just Nick Gonzales and Valdez. (Mercifully, the Pirates cut the right-handed-hitting Marcell Ozuna on August 5.)

With platoon preferences in mind, that means the Pirates are poorly equipped to deal with left-handed pitchers. The team’s OPS against lefties is nearly 100 points lower than against righties. Their 25.7% strikeout rate is the worst in the National League. An ice-cold Valdez simply serves to highlight this glaring issue.

Lack of balance in Pirates lineups has put Esmerlyn Valdez’s struggles under a microscope

Konnor Griffin’s return from the IL will help to some extent, and third-base prospect Murf Gray wields his right-handed bat like a cudgel. (Strangely, the lineup at Double-A Altoona, where Gray is currently stationed, features one non-righty: switch-hitting infielder Keiner Delgado.) Beyond that, though, the near-minors host very few power bats on the right side.

With the bullpen propped up by the shrewd deadline dealings, it’s time for the front office to track down a right-handed slugger during the offseason. They could go big by targeting Randy Arozarena or familiar foe Seiya Suzuki. Both of those players would compete with Reynolds and Valdez for playing time at the corner outfield spots while also likely DHing a bit.

Unlike superstar prospects like Paul Skenes and Seth Hernandez, Valdez was never meant to be the guy that could shoulder the team. He’s a terrific slugger without a doubt, but asking him to be the sole generator of offense against left-handed pitchers is not only unfair to him but could be a reason for his sudden offensive downturn.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow