Pittsburgh Pirates 2025 DSL update

How are things going in the Dominican Summer League for the Pirates?

We are a little over a month into the 2025 Dominican Summer League season, with both of the Pirates’ teams there at, or over, the 30-game mark.

There have been some solid performances so far. Here’s a look at some of the best:

Johan De Los Santos

The brother of current Marauders’ infielder Yordany, Johan, has been off to a strong start to his professional career. JDLS is hitting .329/.440/.400 with three doubles, a triple, and 14 stolen bases.

He's showing some impressive plate awareness and bat-to-ball skills, walking (16) twice as much as he’s striking out (8).

With all of that, it’s easy to overlook the fact that he is still 16 years old for another week.

Darell Morel

This was the big name in the signing class for the Pirates, even though he did not receive the largest bonus (De Los Santos did). Morel was originally set to sign with the Dodgers, but they rescinded their offer to pursue Roki Sasaki.

Morel is a tall shortstop with plenty of projection that could lead to plus raw power. He got off to a bit of an odd start to the season. Through his first nine games, he was hitting .158 but had an .817 OPS. That was in part due to a 30% walk rate and all three of his hits going for extra bases.

Since that point, he has been hitting much better (.284/.377/.478), but is currently striking out at a 30% clip.

Edgar Walker

A more under-the-radar signing this international period, Walker got off to a rough start in the DSL, hitting .063/.211/.125 with a 36.8 K% in his first six games. He’s quickly bounced back and has hit .317/.377/.467 with a 122 wRC+, five doubles, two triples, and seven stolen bases since those first six games.

Walker was noted for his bat-to-ball skills when signing, and while it took a minute to get going, he’s started to show it as of late.

Overall, on the season, Walker is hitting .263/.341/.395 with eight extra base hits (6 2B, 2 3B), 19 RBI, and eight stolen bases.

Yoander Santana

Signed out of the Dominican Republic, Santana received a $10,000 bonus. He’s quietly had a solid year behind some of the more notable names, Santana is one of three players on either DSL team to have multiple home runs this season.

Moving all over the infield, Santana is hitting .260/.341/.452 with a 110 wRC+, four doubles, two triples, and two home runs, while driving in 12 runs and stealing four bases.

Victor Marquez

Another new face to the organization, Marquez, was noted for his defense when signing out of Venezuela, but has put together some solid numbers with the bat.

In 19 games this season, Marquez has hit .260/.444/.400 with a pair of home runs, a double, and 10 stolen bases. He also has quite a few more walks (18) than he does strikeouts (8). That’s a walk rate of over 20%, and a strikeout rate right at 11%.

Behind the plate, he’s thrown out 5-of-19 basestealers (26%) while also having three passed balls in 13 total games behind the plate.

Keuri Almonte

Pitching isn’t always easy to find in the DSL, but it certainly exists. This is the third year in the Dominican for Almonte, and while he’s always put up good strikeout numbers, this year he’s gone to another level.

Almonte has 32 strikeouts over 17.2 IP, a 43.2% rate. While the walks have improved, it’s still over 20%. Regardless, he’s holding a career-best 2.60 ERA, and even if some of that should be expected given it’s third go-around, there have been improvements.

Yonleng Gaetano

An older signing, Gaetano, has been fantastic in his pro debut season. In 14.2 innings out of the bullpen, he has recorded three saves while allowing just one earned run (0.63). He has also posted a 36.4% strikeout rate, compared to a 3.6 BB%.

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