Danny Valencia: Difference between revisions

Daniel Paul "Danny" Valencia (born September 19, 1984, in Boca Raton, Florida) is a third baseman for the Minnesota Twins.^[1]

In high school, he was all-county three times and all-state twice. In college, he was Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, second-team all-conference, and on his all-regional team. He was drafted while he was a junior at the University of Miami, by the Twins in the 19th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft, the 576th player chosen.[1]

In the minors Valencia was an All Star in the Appalachian League (2006), the Midwest League (2007), and the Florida State League (2008). He entered the 2010 season ranked as the Twins' sixth-best prospect by Baseball America.^[2]

Valencia made his major league debut on June 3, 2010.

Valencia, who is Jewish, is the son of Michael ("Mike") and Mindy (a retired certified public accountant) Valencia, and has a younger sister named Laura.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]} He grew up in Boca Raton, Florida.^[8][9]

As a youth, he started played T-ball at age 6 in the Boca Raton youth baseball program.^[10] In 1996, Valencia pitched for the Boca Raton Babe Ruth League 12-and-under all-star baseball team that won the state championship, and in 1997 he pitched and hit for the Boca Lightning 12-and-under travel baseball team that went 27–2 and won the South Florida All-Star Travel League championship.^[11]

His two key hitting coaches growing up were Bob Molinaro, a family friend who is a former major leaguer and Eastern League manager, and his mother Mindy, who follows his games. Valencia said:

She sends me text messages constantly. Think right-center. If I roll it over and ground out to third base, it's, 'You're pulling off.' She listens, and [pictures the at bat]. She watches a lot of baseball.^[12]

Valencia played shortstop for four years for the Spanish River High School Sharks. He earned South Florida Sun-Sentinel All-County honors as a junior, and was named first team All-Palm Beach County three times and second team All-State twice.^{[13][10][6][8]} As a junior in 2002 he was Offensive Player of the Year after hitting .430, and as a senior in 2003 he hit .575.^[6] When Valencia was in high school, he was 6-foot-2 and weighed 160 pounds.^[14] By his sophomore year of college, he had added 40 pounds.^[14]

In his freshman year of college, at University of North Carolina at Greensboro–one of two teams that had offered him a full baseball scholarship–he played third base and batting .338 with a .527 slugging percentage, and a team-leading 8 home runs.^[10][6][7] He was the 2004 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, and was voted second-team All-Conference.^[7] University of Miami coach Jim Morris said: "He got bigger and stronger, and put it together as a player. He got a lot better in one year."^[9]

When Valencia sought to transfer from UNC-Greensboro after his freshman year, the school–after initially agreeing to release Valencia from his scholarship–refused his request.^[7] He appealed the decision to a university committee, however, which ruled in his favor, allowing him to leave.^[7] In NCAA Division I baseball, players can change schools without losing a year of eligibility as long as they are granted a release.^[7]

The University of Miami offered him enough scholarship money to cover a little more than his books, and he accepted.^[7] His parents covered the rest.^[7] His mother Mindy said:

The first year [at Miami] we borrowed up to the top of my head for him to play there. This [$30,000 or so per year] was a big sacrifice for the whole family, but we knew how much he wanted to go there. Him going there was going to be this possible trip to [the College World Series in] Omaha.^[5][9]

He transferred to the University of Miami to play for the Miami Hurricanes, where his sophomore year he played first base alongside then-third-baseman Ryan Braun, hit .300 and knocked in 63 runs while batting fifth in the lineup, and was named to the All-Regional Team.^{[15][14][16][17][8]} "It's night and day" from UNC-Greensboro, said Valencia. "It's awesome. It's what every Florida kid dreams of. It's the program–the winning, the uniforms. Everything from the strength coach to the facilities is completely different."^[14] During the summer of 2005, he played third base for the Anchorage Glacier Pilots in the Alaska Baseball League.^[13]

When Braun left to join the Milwaukee Brewers' farm system in 2005, Valencia replaced him at third base for his junior year.^[13] He said: "it’s hard to replace a guy like Braun. I mean he is pretty much irreplaceable. He is a great player."^[13] In his junior year, Valencia batted .324 with a .475 slugging percentage.^[18] In two years (and 122 games) with the Hurricanes, Valencia hit .312 with 124 RBIs, and played in the College World Series.^[12] Valencia then played seven games for the Orleans Cardinals in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2006.^[19]

Drafted in the 19th round of the 2006 draft by the Minnesota Twins, only the 576th player chosen, he skipped his senior year to begin his pro career.^[20][21] Valencia said:

No question that being selected in the 19th round was a big disappointment, but realistically it does not change things for me. My goal has always been to get to the big leagues... It does not matter where you start, but where you finish.^[22]

In his first professional season, Valencia played first and third base with the Elizabethton Twins. He compiled a .311 batting average (9th in the league, and 5th in the Twins' organization) and a .505 slugging percentage (6th in the league), with eight home runs (4th in the league) and 29 runs batted in in 48 games. He was also 5th in the league in at-bats-per-home-run.^[23] Valencia was named a 2006 Appalachian League Post-Season All-Star, and then batted .364 in the playoffs.^{[24][25][26][26]}

Valencia was selected as a Midwest League All Star in 2007, while playing with the Beloit Snappers, for whom he batted .302/.374/.500.^[27][21] His Beloit teammates nicknamed him "The Franchise".^[28] Manager Jeff Smith said: “The good thing about Danny is he uses the whole field.... He's showing patience at the plate, and getting a good pitch to hit.”^[28]

Immediately following the All Star game, he was promoted to the high A Fort Myers Miracle. He earned Florida State League (FSL) "Player of the Week" honors, batting .379 (11–29) with two home runs, three runs scored, and 10 RBIs for the week of July 16. He hit a combined .297/.354/.462 with 17 homers and 66 RBIs at Beloit and Fort Myers.^[29]

Still assigned to the Miracle for the first half of 2008, he batted a league-leading .336 with a league-leading 74 hits, and five home runs and 44 RBIs (2nd in the league), a .402 on base percentage, and a .518 slugging percentage. He was named a Florida State League All Star, and helped the Miracle capture the FSL 2008 Western Division first half crown.^[30][31][32] Jim Rantz, Twins director of minor leagues, said: "He's going to hit for power. He's going to hit for average. He's got a very nice swing. The other thing is his defense. He's been working very hard on that."^[30]

Valencia was promoted to the Twins' Double-A affiliate, the New Britain Rock Cats for the second half of the season. With the Rock Cats, Valencia batted .289 with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs. Between the two teams, he batted .311 (6th in the Twins' system) with 15 home runs and 76 RBIs (4th in the Twins' system).^[33][34]

With the Rock Cats to start 2009, he was voted the Eastern League Player of the Week Award for the week ending May 24, after batting .444 with a .778 slugging percentage.^[35] Rock Cats manager Tom Nieto said: "Danny's going to be a special player. He's got an electric bat. That's the first thing you notice about Danny–the ball jumps off his bat like a major leaguer. You can't really teach that."^[12] He hit 38 doubles during the season, tied for the most in the Twins' organization.^[36]

Following the season, he played 31 games of winter ball with the Arizona Fall League's Phoenix Desert Dogs. He spent spring training with the Twins in 2009 as a non-roster invitee, batting .429, and was assigned to New Britain following spring training.^[37][38] Baseball America ranked him as the 5th-best prospect in the Twins' organization.^[39]

During the 2009 season, Valencia first played for New Britain and was then promoted to the Triple-A Rochester. He batted a combined .285 with 14 home runs and 70 RBIs for the two teams. He was brought up at the 2009 trading deadline in trade rumors for Freddy Sanchez, Marco Scutaro, and Orlando Cabrera (whom the Twins eventually acquired for shortstop Tyler Ladendorf), but the Twins were unwilling to part ways with the third baseman, predicting that he would be one of the top position players of the future.^[40][41][42] On November 20, 2009, he was added to the Twins' 40-man roster.^[43] Rantz said: "We're still trying to fill the third-base hole. Eventually ... we're all hoping that [Valencia will] be that guy."^[44]

He then went to Puerto Rico to play winter ball for the Indios de Mayagüez in the Puerto Rico winter league, and as a foreign-born player (of Cuban heritage) for Team Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Series.^[45][46] Twins general manager Bill Smith said in December: "I give Danny Valencia credit. He's down in Puerto Rico right now playing winter ball and trying to get better.... You always want an underdog guy, somebody to step up when presented with an opportunity."^[47] Hector Otero, the Twins scout who signed Valencia and who was the general manager of the Mayagüez club, said: "I think he is a talented player. He definitely can throw. He worked on his defense–worked extra before games–and everyone knows he can swing the bat."^[48]

Valencia began 2010 playing third base for Rochester, and was batting .292 in 48 games when he was called up by the parent club.^[49]

During spring training with the Twins in 2010, Valencia was subjected to standard rookie hazing.^[50] One day he arrived to find his shoelaces missing.^[50] Another day, he had cream cheese in his deodorant.^[50] A third day, his locker was stuffed with boxes of Huggies diapers and baby food.^[50] "All in good fun," said Valencia.^[50] Assessing Valencia's hitting during spring training, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said: “I guarantee you one thing, he can hit a fastball; and if he sits on a breaking ball, he can hit that, too.”^[51]

On June 3, 2010, he was called up to replace Michael Cuddyer, who had been placed on the bereavement list following the death of his father-in-law.^[52] Gardenhire said: "[Valencia’s] going to come up and play. Put him in the lineup.... Get him up here, and let him swing.”^[53]

In his debut, he went 1 for 3.^[54] He became the 13th Jewish major leaguer to play in 2010, joining among others former college teammate Ryan Braun.^[5] He was also only the second player drafted in the 19th round of the 2006 draft to make it to the majors, the other being Chris Pettit.^[5] Nick Punto said:

It’s not easy to come up to the big leagues, playing for a first-place team, and to carry yourself the way he has. He is the third baseman of the future. That’s great; it’s great for the Minnesota Twins. I think he’s going to have a great future.^[36]

On July 3, Gardenhire said he had spoken with general manager Bill Smith about giving Valencia at bats against left-handers, against whom he was batting .350 with a .435 on-base percentage.[2] "I don't want him sitting up here for five or six days a week when he could be swinging, that's for sure," Gardenhire said.[3]

• List of select Jewish Major League Baseball players

• Career statistics and player information from Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Minor League Baseball
• "TwinCitiesDugout Q&A: Top Prospect Danny Valencia", Brad Weiss, September 29, 2008
• "Video Interview of Danny Valencia", MLB.com, January 24, 2010