Emmanuel Valdez

Emmanuel Valdez Avila

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 230 lb.

• Born November 23, 1978 in Tijuana, Baja California Mexico

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Emmanuel Valdez has over 160 home runs in his minor league career (through 2013).

Valdez debuted in 1998, playing for the Mexico City Tigers (1 for 6) and AZL Mexican All-Stars (.328/.421/.464, 18 2B, 35 RBI in 50 G). He was 8th in the Arizona League in average, 5th in OBP (between J.D. Closser and Tony Cosentino), tied Rusty Keith for third in doubles and tied Jeremy Schied for 6th in RBI. He did not make the AZL All-Star team as Miguel Olivo was picked at C and Rene Reyes at 1B, the two positions Valdez rotated between. Despite his success, it would be his only chance in the US-based minors. He hit only .179/.305/.321 as a bench player for Mexico City in 1999 and .183/.297/.312 in the same role in 2000.

Becoming the starting catcher in 2001, he had 17 passed balls and batted just .218/.328/.333. He hit .314/.420/.534 in 2002, his first successful season in Mexico but slumped (.211/.333/.316 in 16 G) in 2003. During 2004, he hit .292 and slugged .514 as a part-timer. Moving to the Potros de Tijuana in 2005, he produced at a .302/.383/.517 clip with 19 homers in 94 games. He regressed once more, hitting .209/.319/.270 in 41 games for Tijuana in 2006 and .270/.435/.410 in 34 games for the Piratas de Campeche, his OPS almost 200 points lower than in 2005. With the Vaqueros Laguna in 2007, he reestablished himself to bat .295/.433/.519 with 61 walks. He was 10th in the Mexican League in walks and second on his team in OBP.

2008 marked his last year as a starting catcher; the Tijuana native hit .260/.368/.450 with 14 home runs. He was mostly a DH in 2009, batting .308/.416/.499 with 16 dingers, 72 walks and 70 RBI. He was 7th in the Mexican League in walks. In 2010, the Laguna DH/1B hit .331/.460/.553 with 31 doubles, 16 home runs, 74 runs, 88 RBI and 83 walks. He finished 4th in OBP (behind Francisco Mendez, D'Angelo Jimenez and Willis Otanez), just missed the top 10 in slugging, was 8th in OPS (between Mario Valenzuela and Jimenez), tied Pedro Valdes for 6th in doubles, was second to Mendez in walks and tied Mendez and Luis Garcia for third in RBI. That won him a spot on the Mexican national team for the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games. He began the tournament at 1B and cleanup but was moved to 5th in the order and DH after a couple games. He was 0 for 13 with 7 walks and a RBI entering the Gold Medal game, but still hit 5th and played DH. He was 1 for 2 with two walks and a RBI in a 3-2 loss to the Dominican national team as Mexico got the Silver.

In 2011, Valdez hit .317/.409/.524 with 16 homers and 75 RBI for the Vaqueros. He had an off-year in 2012, split between Laguna (4 for 26, 4 BB), the Reynosa Broncos (.198/.260/.397 in 37 G) and the Saraperos de Saltillo (.326/.413/.543 in 25 G), with a 751 OPS overall. In 2013, he hit .300/.406/.591 with 25 home runs for Saltillo. He tied Jose Castillo for 9th in the LMB in homers.