Morning Rundown: Weekly MiLB Preview, more promotions, Futures Game
MiLB weekly preview, two promotions, and Futures Game rosters announced
The Altoona Curve will be getting some offensive help, as Esmerlyn Valdez and Omar Alfonzo are being promoted from the Greensboro Grasshoppers.
Valdez, 21, is second in all of minor league baseball in home runs, trailing only Lazaro Montes of the Seattle Mariners organization, with 20. He is hitting .303/.385/.591 on the season, experiencing a decrease in strikeouts compared to his previous season.
For Alfonzo, he got a taste of Greensboro last year, so he had nearly 400 plate appearances at the level. This season, he has 11 home runs, which is two behind his career-high, which he registered last year.
Altoona had four players with a qualified amount of plate appearances, none of them had an OPS of over .700, so the added offense helps.
Valdez is having a breakout season, and now gets a real test on the swing adjustments he made during the offseason. He checked in at #19 in our midseason Top 30 update.
More good news for Valdez on Monday, as he and Konnor Griffin were named to the Futures Game during the All-Star break.
Griffin, 19, is hitting .343/.412/.544 with 12 home runs and 37 stolen bases this year with Bradenton and Greensboro.
The 2025 Futures Game will be played on Saturday, July 12, at 4 pm ET.
Here are the other Pirates to play in the game over the last few years:
2024: Bubba Chandler, Termarr Johnson
2023: JP Massey, Endy Rodriguez
2022: Mike Burrows
2021: Quinn Priester, Roansy Contreras
Bucs on Deck: Pittsburgh Pirates Top 30 Midseason Update
We are past the halfway mark of the 2025 minor league season, and it seems like a perfect time for an update on our Top Prospect list, which has been expanded to 30 players.
We are running a special where you can get 30% off a yearly subscription when you upgrade to a paid membership.
Not only do you gain access to our Top 30 scouting reports and 2025 updates, but also video breakdowns and player features, as well as live reports from my travels to minor league games.
Indianapolis Indians: 46-34
Last Week: 4-2
Opponent: Louisville Bats (Reds)
Quick Overview:
The Indianapolis Indians are coming off a series win against Omaha, led by Hunter Barco’s two starts. They’ll face off against the Louisville Bats, who are 3-3 in the second half and 35-46 overall.
With the promotion of Chase Burns, the Triple-A team is light on top 30 prospects currently. The lone Top 100 prospect is Chase Petty, who tossed nine innings of one-run baseball over two starts against the Indians earlier in the season.
Opposing Prospects
Chase Petty | RHP | 6
Baseball America #77
MLB Pipeline #82
Luis Mey | RHP | 20
Zach Maxwell | RHP | 23
Altoona Curve: 35-39
Last Week: 5-1
Opponent: Harrisburg Senators (Nationals)
Quick Overview:
Altoona won five of six last week against Chesapeake and gets reinforcements in Esmerlyn Valdez and Omar Alfonzo, who get promotions from Greensboro.
They will face a Harrisburg pitching staff that has allowed the fifth-most runs in the Eastern League this season.
One of the pitchers they will miss is Jarlin Susan, a top 100 prospect who is on the injured list right now. Seaver King was the Nationals’ first-round pick last year, and Cayden Wallace was acquired at the deadline last year.
Jarlin Susana (IL-7 day) | RHP | 2
Baseball America #50
MLB Pipeline #58
Seaver King | SS | 4
Cayden Wallace | 3B | 10
Tyler Stuart | RHP | 14
Andry Lara | RHP | 16
Kevin Made | SS | 25
Greensboro Grasshoppers: 52-22
Last Week: 5-1
Opponent: Aberdeen Ironbirds (Orioles)
Quick Overview:
Greensboro loses two of its top offensive threats in Valdez and Alfonzo, who are heading to Altoona. They still have Konnor Griffin, who is hitting better in High-A than he did with Bradenton.
Aberdeen has a fairly heavy presence from the 2024 draft, at least on the hitting side. Vance Honeycutt (1st), Griff O’Ferrell (PPI Pick), and Ethan Anderson (2nd) are Top 30 prospects and were drafted last year.
They also have Ryan Stafford (5th) and Austin Overn (3rd) on the roster, who were in last year’s draft.
Vance Honeycutt |OF | 4
Griff O’Ferrell | SS | 6
Michael Forret | RHP | 7
Luis De Leon | LHP | 13
Aron Estrada | INF | 16
Ethan Anderson | C/1B | 18
Leandro Arias | SS/2B | 21
Austin Overn | OF | 30
Bradenton Marauders: 35-39
Last Week: 3-2
Opponent: Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (Twins)
Quick Overview:
Fort Myers currently holds the lead in the season series, 5-4. The last time they met, in May, Bradenton took two of three.
Dasan Hill was a prep pick in the 2024 draft, and their lone Top 100 prospect at the level. They’ve been cautious with him, and he’s struggled with his control, but Hill has also struck out 47 batters in 33 innings pitched.
Yasser Mercedes destroyed the FCL last year, but has struggled in Single-A the last two seasons.
Dasan Hill | LHP | 13
Baseball America #74
Yasser Mercedes | OF | 19
Dameury Pena | 2B/OF | 24
Adrian Bohorquez | RHP | 27
Michael Carpenter | LHP | 30
Bucs On Deck is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Heck, bat Davis leadoff today and see what happens.
Here’s an interesting statistical tidbit: through the end of May, the Pirates were 29th in swing frequency. In June they were fourth.
Maybe Haines WAS a big part of the problem and it took a while to shake the passivity. Probably wouldn’t bet on that, but something has changed.