On Sunday, I wrote about the incredible rise of Esmerlyn Valdez, the 22-year-old power hitter who was playing in High-A ball a year ago at this time and now finds himself earning a major league salary. Valdez, by the way, hit his second home run of the season and first at PNC Park in front of jubilant family members last night.

In attempting to show just how sensational Valdez’s ascension over the last calendar year was, I examined the lineup from exactly one year before his MLB debut on May 22nd, 2025, when Pittsburgh’s High-A affiliate in the Greensboro Grasshoppers were taking on the Asheville Tourists.

Of the 13 total players who appeared in that game for Greensboro, two of them are still playing in High-A. Eight have advanced one level to Double-A. One has reached Triple-A. And two have graduated to the big leagues: Valdez, and right-handed reliever Brandan Bidois.

While the slugger Valdez was going 1-for-3 with two runs scored, two walks, and an RBI on that May evening in North Carolina, the right-handed Bidois was earning a two-out save in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the 8-6 win for Greensboro.

And Bidois, though perhaps not as flashy of a ballplayer as Valdez and not a member of the organization’s Top 30, has achieved just as impressive of an ascension all the way from High-A to the bigs.

I suppose taking big leaps is something the Aussie pitcher is already familiar with. A native of Brisbane, the 24-year-old spent years in the organization before experiencing a breakout season on the farm last year.

Bidois got a bit of a late start to 2025, making his season debut in Low-A Bradenton on April 26th. Just one outing later, he was bumped up to Greensboro. In a month and a half with the Grasshoppers, Bidois recorded an ERA of 0.86 along with a 1.143 WHIP and 2.08 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Only once in his 16 appearances and 21 innings was Bidois charged with earned runs.

That performance earned him a promotion to Double-A Altoona, where he continued to dominate over the next level of batters. Used mostly as a multi-inning reliever, Bidois allowed just three earned runs in 25 innings for a 1.08 ERA, plummeting his WHIP to 0.720 and upping his strikeout-to-walk ratio to 3.25.

It was in Altoona where his eventual 18-inning, 64-batter, hitless streak kicked off. From August 3rd to September 14th, no batter secured a hit off Bidois, and the 6′ 2 reliever only issued eight free passes. That streak also spanned two leagues, as Bidois was elevated to Triple-A Indianapolis in mid-August.

Though his streak was finally snapped by veteran minor leaguer Caleb Knight in his seventh game in Triple-A, that streak put his name on the map in Pittsburgh. Tossing 13 scoreless innings and racking ip 15 Ks to end the season didn’t hurt, either.

Bidois started this season in Triple-A, and ironically, his chance at MLB baseball comes on the heels of career-worsts in the minor leagues. Bidois suffered a 7.20 ERA and 1.667 WHIP in 15 innings of relief, but on May 12th, the Pirates brought him up to the bigs. Baseball is funny like that.

Since arriving, Bidois has held major league batting to just two earned runs through seven innings. He’s not someone who relies on a deep arsenal of pitches; when he’s not drilling the four-seam fastball, he’s lobbing the slider.

But it’s working for him. Through seven innings in the bigs, Bidois has surrendered just two earned runs. Every now and then, someone gets a hold of that four-seamer, but given his general ability to limit base runners, it’s yet to turn into a serious problem.

Tuesday night was his best performance yet. Bidois took over for Braxton Ashcraft in the seventh inning after the starter delivered yet another dominant performance, tossing 6.1 innings of one-run ball. Finishing the seventh and also pitching the eighth, Bidois pitched his longest outing yet to secure five outs. No one reached base and he struck out three en route to lowering his season ERA to 2.57.

Bidois is far from the only pitcher the Pirates have developed over the last few years and under general manager Ben Cherington. But he does represent a rare type of pitcher the organization as developed: reliever.

All five current starters in Pittsburgh’s rotation are homegrown talents. Even when Jared Jones returns and someone from that group shifts to the bullpen, the rotation will still be fully drafted and developed by the Pirates. But in the pen, Wilber Dotel (a starter in the minor leagues) is the only homegrown talent the Pirates have.

If Bidois can succeed in the majors and continue to hurl the ball the way he has, he will give the Pirates a new type of success in an area they’ve already dominated in.

In the shorter term, it would also help stabilize the most hectic part of the roster. It’s no secret this bullpen has some problems, but finding solutions is easier said than done.

Taking a flier on a waiver claim is an inherent risk. And there’s only so many MLB-capable relievers sitting out there in the bargain bin that is free agency in late May.

Some of the solutions to the struggling bullpen are going to have come internally. If Bidois can prove to be one of those, this team just got a big boost.