PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates are one of the better home run hitting teams in baseball and their power extends to their youth.Pirates catcher Rafael Flores Jr. showed exactly that in their 8-6 defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park, hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning for his first MLB home run. It was an impressive home run as well, as Flores crushed an 88.1 mph slider over the middle of the plate from Dodgers left-handed starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski, sending it 108.7 mph off the bat and 440 feet, over the center field wall and into the Pirates bullpen.First Major League HR for Rafael Flores Jr! pic.twitter.com/W2cA09hK1o— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 12, 2026That home run was one of many that the Pirates rookies have hit this season and shows that power they possess throughout the lineup and the organization as well.Pirates Rookies Answering the Call Early OnThe Pirates have gotten nine home runs from their rookies this season, and you could add two more with Nick Yorke, who did it in his 50th career game, and Endy Rodríguez, who did homered in his 87th career game.Pirates Rookie Home Runs in 2026PlayerHome RunsKonnor Griffin4Tyler Callihan2Esmerlyn Valdez2Rafael Flores Jr. 1Nick Yorke*1Endy Rodríguez*1Shortstop Konnor Griffin is the future of the Pirates and has four home runs, which should consistently get higher this season, once he returns from injury, then over the next few seasonsGriffin has also posted a bat speed of 75.5 mph, second on the Pirates only to center fielder Oneil Cruz and in the 90th percentile of all MLB hitters. May 6, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin (6) against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesTyler Callihan hit both of his home runs in the previous game, a solo home run off of Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani and then a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning that put the Pirates up 7-6 after trailing 6-1 in the eventual 9-8 win.Those two home runs were hard hit as well, 107.3 mph and 427 feet over the right field wall off of Ohtani and then 101.4 mph and 394 feet into the right field seats on his second one. Valdez hit both of his home runs in his last MLB stint, with a two-run home run to give the Pirates a three-run lead in the 4-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on May 24 and then another two-run home run in the first inning of a 12-1 blowout of the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park on May 26. His second home run was reminiscent of Flores', as he sent it 105.5 mph off the bat and 415 feet, also into the Pirates' bullpen. All four of these players started the season at Triple-A Indianapolis and them all being with the Pirates now is something that Flores has relished since recently coming up. "It's sick," Flores said on the rookies hitting home runs. "We can kind of bond a little bit, I know them a little more. We're tight-knitted and it's great. I love those guys."What Makes This Power So Important for the PiratesThe Pirates rank tied-11th in baseball with 82 home runs and the nine home runs from the rookies are about 11% of those home runs, or the 11 home runs are 13%.Those are both good percentages for the Pirates, who ranked last in baseball in 2025 with just 117 home runs and are 36 home runs from breaking that with 93 games remaining. Flores' home run was also big for the Pirates, who were trailing 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning and he helped them start finally putting together some offense and cut the deficit to 5-4. Jun 11, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Nick Gonzales (3) congratulates catcher Rafael Flores Jr. (43) returning to the dugout on a solo home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn ImagesThe Pirates having young players who can change the momentum of a game with one swing is huge and Flores noticed how much the game shifted after his home run. "Oh, it's huge. I mean, that kind of started the whole rally," Flores said on his home run. "I just want to do that the rest of the year. If I can make a quick spark and spark up the whole offense, that's how you win ball games. Gotta keep doing it." The Pirates have needed their young players to step up, as Valdez did so when Ryan O'Hearn went on the injured list, Callihan has done so with Griffin out and now with Cruz out, there's a need for anyone to produce from the plate.Pirates manager Don Kelly isn't expecting anyone to put up numbers like Cruz has this season, but seeing the way in which Flores and Callihan have done at the plate so far, he's encouraged with the rookies and how they've impacted the offense so far. "In the time we’re in right now, they were hugely instrumental yesterday in coming back," Kelly said. "Any time you lose guys like KG and Cruz, other guys can step up and take advantage of the opportunity like Flores and Callihan have done. In a big way, too. They’re not going up there trying to do too much. They’re staying within. They’ve got the swing to be able to do that stuff. "I think it was really impressive how, offensively overall, we continued to stay with the approach, grind it out. Wrobleski was really good. We found a way to get to him and knock him out of the game there in the fifth."Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates!Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow