Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin and outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez have been named to the National League roster for this season’s All-Star Futures Game. The 26th edition of the Futures Game will be played on Saturday, July 12 at Truist Park in Cumberland, Georgia.
The 19-year-old Griffin is currently rated by MLB Pipeline as Pittsburgh’s No. 2 prospect (No. 31 in all of baseball). He leads all full-season minor league players with 67 runs scored, while also ranking second in hits (94), third in batting (.343), ninth in total bases (149) and 10th in stolen bases (37).
Griffin, who was selected ninth overall in the 2024 draft from Jackson Preparatory (MS) School, has 12 homers and 48 RBI in 67 games in his first pro season, which has been split between Low-A Bradenton (50 games) and High-A Greensboro (17 games). Griffin, who was promoted to Greensboro on June 10, has reached base safely in 28 straight games, tied for the seventh-longest active streak in all of MiLB.
The 21-year-old Valdez is tied for second among all full-season minor league players with 20 home runs, while also ranking third in total bases (164), tied for third in extra-base hits (39) and eighth in slugging (.592). Valdez, who has spent the entire season at Greensboro, leads the South Atlantic League in batting (.303), hits (84), home runs, RBI (57), slugging, OPS (.977), extra-base hits and total bases, while also ranking tied for first in doubles (18) and tied for fourth in runs scored (46).
Valdez, who was signed by Pittsburgh as a non-drafted free agent on January 15, 2021, has a .263 average (269-for-1024), 56 home runs and 195 RBI over his 305 career games in the minor leagues.