Phillies Nation

Prospect Rankings No. 9: Sebastian Valle

Posted by Ben Seal, Wed, September 16, 2009 02:30 PM

Sebastian Valle, C

Born: 7/24/1990 in Los Mochis, Mexico

Height: 6’1”

Weight: 170

When the Phillies traded catcher Lou Marson to Cleveland in the Cliff Lee deal, there were two players in the farm system that made the loss bearable. Sebastian Valle, one of the Phils’ two catching prospects that landed in the Top 10, may not be Major League-ready like Marson, but he could very well be a more enticing option within a few years.

Valle is a teenager and has only been playing behind the plate since he was 17, so it’s fair to expect a handful of bumps along the way. But while it may be three years before Valle is a viable option to play in the Majors, he is already showing some impressive attributes that make him a valuable commodity.

The Phillies signed Valle as a non-drafted free agent in October, 2006 and he spent 2007 playing in the Dominican Summer League as a 16-year-old. He moved on to the GCL last year and posted strong numbers, highlighted by his 15 doubles, good for third in the league. He made the jump to single-A Lakewood to start this season, but struggled to adjust as one of the youngest players at that level.

Valle was sent down to short-season Williamsport in the middle of the year and flourished, hitting .307 with 26 extra-base hits in 50 games in the pitching-heavy New York-Penn League. Valle spent the last month of the season back in Lakewood, and though his overall numbers at single-A don’t look great, he still showed plenty of pop, slugging 12 doubles in 45 games.

It will be some time before Valle is ready to contribute at the top level of the organization. He will need to prove that he can handle pitchers well – both at the plate and behind it – as he advances through the system. But if his early success is any indication of what the future might hold, the Phillies can expect the buzz around Valle to grow.

Statistics

Year   Level    AB    R   H   2B   3B   HR   RBI   BB   K   AVG   OBP   SLG

2007   ROOK   176   29   50  13   1    2    25    29  26   .284  .398  .403

2008   ROOK   167   27   47  15   0    2    18    12   31  .281  .341  .407

2009   A-       192   25  59  15   5    6    40    10   41  .307  .335  .531

2009   A        157   16  35  12   1    1    15    16   37  .223  .313  .331

Rankings – All previous prospect profiles can be found here, which is also on the left sidebar for easy viewing

9.   Sebastian Valle, C
10.  Mike Stutes, RHP
11.  Antonio Bastardo, LHP
12.  Anthony Gose, OF
13.  Colby Shreve, RHP
14.  Anthony Hewitt, 3B
15.  Justin De Fratus, RHP
16.  Sergio Escalona, LHP
17.  Yohan Flande, LHP
18.  Julian Sampson, RHP
19.  John Mayberry, Jr., OF
20.  Mike Cisco, RHP
21.  Freddy Galvis, SS
22.  Jonathan Pettibone, RHP
23.  Domingo Santana, OF
24.  Jonathan Singleton, 1B
25.  Drew Naylor, RHP

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