John Valente

John Valente

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 190 lb.

• School St. John's University
• High School New Rochelle High School

• Born June 23, 1995 in New Rochelle, NY USA

BR register page

Biographical Information

John Valente has played as high as AAA and has been on the Italian national team.

Valente was redshirted as a college freshman then hit .206/.282/.235 in limited time in 2015. In '16, he became a regular at St. John's and batted .336/.373/.420. In 2017, he improved to .375/.437/.464 with 54 runs in 54 games. He was second in the Big East Conference in average, behind teammate Troy Dixon, 31st in NCAA Division I. He was also the 12th-hardest batter to fan in Division I (14 K in 224 AB). He was All-Big East at first baseman.

As a graduate student, he hit .360/.400/.483 with 54 runs in 56 games. He was the Big East Player of the Year, the first St. John's player so chosen. He was the 6th-hardest batter to fan in Division I. The Detroit Tigers took him in the 21st round of the 2018 amateur draft. The scout was Jim Bretz.

His first pro summer was split between the GCL Tigers West (.344/.366/.469 in 33 G), West Michigan Whitecaps (.333/.357/.426 in 13 G) and Lakeland Flying Tigers (4 for 7) for a composite .349 average. 2019 again saw him top .300, this time playing for the Whitecaps (.312/.365/.341 in 44 G), Lakeland (.297/.343/.337 in 31 G) and both the GCL Tigers West (3 for 15, 3B) and GCL Tigers East (1 for 3, BB). He played mainly third base and second base. The 2020 minor league season was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Valente moved up to the Erie SeaWolves in 2021. Old for the level at age 26, he kept up his .300 trend with a .301/.363/.445 line in 66 games, stealing 9 bases in 11 tries. As a backup for the '22 Toledo Mud Hens, he hit .293/.355/.390 in 82 games, swiping 14 bases in 16 attempts. He then made Italy's roster for the 2023 World Baseball Classic.