Skip to main content

Prospect Nation 2013: #11 Catcher Sebastian Valle

Sebastian Valle, a righty hitting catcher, has proven himself worthy of high praise during his time in the Phillies’ minor league system. Displaying considerable power and crucial skills behind the plate, Valle could be an option to help the big league club in the near future.

After signing as an international free agent at the age of 16 in 2006, Valle began his pro career playing in the Dominican Summer League, where he batted .284 and sported an .802 OPS in 54 games. The following year, Valle played with the Gulf Coast League Phillies and posted a .281 average with two home runs and 18 RBI in 48 games, helping the team lock down a championship.

In 2009, Valle split time between Class A Lakewood and short-season A level Williamsport. In 50 games for the Williamsport Crosscutters, Valle shined, posting a .307 average with six home runs and 40 RBI in 50 contests. In addition, Valle sported an .866 OPS with the ‘Cutters. With Lakewood, where he backed up eventual Roy Halladay trade chip Travis d’Arnaud, Valle batted .223 with a homer and 15 RBI in 45 games.

The 2010 season presented a chance to play more with Lakewood and Valle produced very solid numbers, as one of the leaders of the team’s offense. Valle began the year a bit slow, notching just a single home run in his first 40 games. Once he heated up, though, Valle slammed eight home runs over the next 18 games and kept it going through the remainder of the year. In 117 regular season games, Valle posted a .255 batting average, while mashing a team leading 16 homers and driving in 74 runs to help his club lock down its second consecutive South Atlantic League title.

With Class A Advanced Clearwater, in 2011, the 6-foot-1 205-pounder posted a .284 batting average with five home runs and 40 RBI on the way to becoming a Florida State League All-Star, despite dealing with a sprained thumb, among other ailments, that prevented him from driving the ball as he normally would.

Last season, Valle started out with the Double-A Reading Phillies, where he tallied a .261 average with 13 home runs and 45 RBI in 83 games before earning a promotion to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. With the Pigs, Valle struggled with his average, hitting .218, but launched another four homers in 22 games, which gave him a single season career-high in the category.

Valle, who is a strong, aggressive hitter, displays excellent bat speed and has shown an ability to really drive the ball during his time in the minors. The area where Valle needs the greatest amount of improvement is being more selective at the plate. His walk rate of 3.2% in 2012 and 3.6% in 2011 leaves a large amount to be desired.

On defense, the Mexican born Valle is athletic and has a quick release when throwing the ball to the bases. The Phils’ developmental coaches often rave about the youngster’s footwork and ability to move behind the plate. Valle’s quickness hopping on dribblers and bunts out in front of the plate has improved during his time in the minors as well. He has also taken strides in helping his pitchers with his “frame work” behind the plate.

His speed is fairly typical for a catcher. “Below average” is a suitable description of Valle’s movement on the base paths.

The Phils have loads of depth at the catcher position in their developmental ranks. Along with the likes of Tommy Joseph, Cameron Rupp, Gabriel Lino and others, Valle could find himself as a hot commodity on the trade market in the coming months, due to the amount of talented backstops in the organization including an All-Star at the Major League level in Carlos Ruiz. Where ever Valle might be playing this year, if he can show the same progress at Triple-A as he did at previous levels, he could be ready for a promotion to the big leagues this year.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Prospect Nation 2012: #1 RHP Trevor May

With a massively impressive campaign in 2011 for the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers, right-handed starting pitcher Trevor May locked down his spot as Philadelphia's top prospect and is on the fast track toward the big leagues. He is the reigning Paul Owens Award winner, given to the top pitcher and player in the Phillies' developmental system each year. In 27 starts with the Threshers in 2011, May posted a 10-8 record with a 3.63 ERA, while striking out a Florida State League leading 208 batters in 151 1/3 innings. He also held opposing hitters to a .221 average. The Phillies' 4th round draft pick from 2008, May earned the win in the 50th annual Florida State League All-Star Game at Bright House Field last year. He also was twice named FSL Pitcher of the Week and earned Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Month honors for June. After signing with Philadelphia, May helped lead the rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies to a championship in 2008. In 5 regular

World Series Preview: Phillies vs. Astros

The Fall Classic is set to get underway on Friday with the Phillies opening on the road to take on the Astros in a best-of-seven series. This year marks 75 years since the first time a World Series was televised and this year each game will be broadcast on the FOX television network.  ESPN will have the radio broadcast and that feed can be streamed by using this link . Game 1 Friday, 8:03pm Eastern....in Houston.  RHP Aaron Nola (11-13, 3.25 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (18-4, 1.75 ERA).  In 16 road starts during the regular season this year, Nola notched a 5-9 record with a 3.00 ERA.  Nola has struck out 18 and walked three in 17 1/3 innings pitched this postseason.  Earlier this month, Nola tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings at Houston.  In 15 home starts during the regular season, Verlander sported a 10-1 record with a 1.64 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP.  Verlander has a 5.68 ERA and has not recorded a win in seven career World Series starts.  Verlander has 11 starts allowing one run or fewer in

PhoulBallz Interview: RHP Ben Brown talks TJ recovery, O'Hoppe, cancelled season

Image- MiLB.com Out of action since last May when it was determined he required Tommy John surgery, righty pitching prospect Ben Brown is using the downtime of the pandemic hiatus to continue his physical recovery.  A 33rd round draft selection of the Phillies back in 2017, Brown made his professional debut that same year, posting a 2.57 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP in 10 appearances in the rookie level Gulf Coast League.  The following season, Brown began to make a name for himself in the GCL, striking out 16 batters in one July appearance.  He would post a 3.12 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in 10 games (eight starts) before earning a promotion and finishing the season with a pair of outings with Class A short-season Williamsport. Brown, a Long Island, NY native, opened last year with Class A Lakewood.  In four appearances with the BlueClaws, he struck out 20, walked four and allowed no runs in 13 2/3 innings and looked well on his way to making an impact on betting odds and available promo codes