Sebastián Valle

Sebastian Valle Velazquez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 205 lb.

• Born July 24, 1990 in Los Mochis, Sinaloa Mexico

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Sebastián Valle played in the 2011 Futures Game.

Valle signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2006; the scouts were Sal Agostinelli and Norman Anciani. He hit .284/.398/.403 in his pro debut with the 2007 DSL Phillies. In '08, he batted .281/.341/.407 for the GCL Phillies, finishing among the Gulf Coast League leaders in doubles (tied for third with Corban Joseph at 15). Baseball America rated him as the league's 7th-best prospect, between Casey Kelly and Zach Collier. With the Cañeros de Los Mochis that winter, he was 1 for 4, backing up Saul Soto and Mario Santana.

Sebastián split 2009 between the Lakewood BlueClaws (.223/.313/.331 in 45 G) and Williamsport Crosscutters (.307/.355/.531, 40 RBI in 55 G). He had 5 RBI in six playoff games for Lakewood. He was third in the New York-Penn League in slugging (behind Neil Medchill and J.D. Martinez) and 5th in average (between Leandro Castro and Deangelo Mack). One negative was defense - 11 passed balls in 67 games and only throwing out 18% of attempted base-stealers. Baseball America listed him as the NYPL's #4 prospect, trailing only Ryan Westmoreland, Alex Colome and Arodys Vizcaino.

Valle hit .255/.298/.430 with 28 doubles, 16 home runs and 74 RBI for the 2010 BlueClaws and had 3 home runs in 7 postseason games. He led Lakewood in both doubles and homers. He was honored as the South Atlantic League All-Star catcher and he led the league's backstops with 823 putouts. Baseball America downgraded him to his circuit's 19th-best prospect, between Slade Heathcott and Chris Dominguez. Splitting time with Soto that winter, he hit .281/.326/.556 for Los Mochis.

In 2011, the young backstop put up a .284/.312/.394 line for the Clearwater Threshers and fielded .998. He led Florida State League catchers in both putouts (737) and fielding percentage. He only had 13 walks in 91 games. He batted .368 against southpaws but .253 against right-handers. He and A.J. Jimenez were picked as the All-Star catchers. In the 2011 Futures Game, the Mexican played for the World in a 6-4 loss. He pinch-hit for Wilin Rosario in the 6th inning, with a 3-2 deficit. Facing Drew Pomeranz, he doubled to left to score Chih-Hsien Chiang with the tying run. He took third on Bryce Harper's throw home then scored on a triple by Jurickson Profar as the World got their only lead. He came up in the 9th with his team now down 6-4. Facing Jacob Turner, he flew out to Matt Szczur. For the Cañeros, he struggled at .175/.258/.325 as Soto's backup in 2011-2012; he had the team's lowest average. Baseball America rated him as the #3 Phillies prospect entering 2012, behind only pitchers Trevor May and Jesse Biddle. They also rated him as the #12 prospect in the FSL, between Zack Cox and Drew Hutchison.

Sources

• 2012 Phillies Media Guide
• 2011 Futures Game