CLEVELAND (AP) 鈥� Esmerlyn Valdez鈥檚 strong start to his major league career is showing no signs of slowing down.
The Pittsburgh Pirates rookie outfielder鈥檚 in the ninth inning of Sunday鈥檚 over the Cleveland Guardians made him the fourth player in major league history with at least 12 homers and 31 RBIs in their first 31 games.
The others to accomplish that feat were Rhys Hoskins with Philadelphia in 2017, Cincinnati鈥檚 Aristides Aquino in 2018-19 and the Dodgers鈥� Will Smith in 2019.
鈥淚t feels great for the start that I鈥檝e had. I always believe in myself. I prepared 鈥� mentally and physically 鈥� for this season to achieve what I鈥檓 achieving today, and the results are showing,鈥� Valdez said through a translator.
The 22-year-old Valdez, nicknamed 鈥淭he Magician鈥� because his first name sounds like Merlin, was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2021. He was added to the 40-man big league roster last November after batting .368 with eight home runs in the Arizona Fall League.
He went 5 for 17 during spring training but started the year at Triple-A Indianapolis. He made his major league debut on May 22 and appeared in five games before returning to Triple-A. He was recalled on June 11 and quickly became an integral part of the roster.
Manager Don Kelly said Valdez鈥檚 power isn鈥檛 the only impressive part of his game.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the professionalism of the at-bats. He鈥檚 not going up there necessarily trying to hit the home runs. He鈥檚 going up there to hit, and he鈥檚 got the power to leave anywhere in the yard,鈥� Kelly said. 鈥淚 mean, it鈥檚 been really impressive what he鈥檚 been able to do in such a short amount of time, but the adjustments he鈥檚 made and the changes he鈥檚 made so far have been really impressive.鈥�
Valdez has hit safely in 19 of his past 22 games, batting .370 (30 for 81) with 18 extra-base hits and 27 RBIs. He is the first Pirates hitter with an extra-base hit and RBI in seven straight games since Willie Stargell in 1971.
His 20 RBIs in July lead the majors and make him the sixth Pittsburgh rookie since 2000 with at least 20 RBIs in a calendar month.
Pirates ace Paul Skenes 鈥� who allowed one run and struck out eight in Sunday鈥檚 victory 鈥� said he saw signs during spring training that Valdez could have a big impact.
鈥淵ou see a lot of guys that can hit the ball really far and take big swings and hit the ball really hard, but you don鈥檛 see guys very often that take big swings and hit the ball really hard, really far and not chase and put together as good at-bats as he does,鈥� Skenes said.
Valdez, who went 3 for 11 with two home runs and five RBIs in the weekend series against Cleveland, is also part of a Pirates鈥� offense that has hit its stride this season.
鈥淓veryone on the team is doing a tremendous job. I think we鈥檒l keep working to achieve the goal,鈥� he said.
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