CHI
George Valera, OF
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Scouting report
A broken hamate and the pandemic have limited the performance sample by which to evaluate Valera. Since signing in 2017, he's only played a total of 58 affiliated games and punched out in nearly 30% of his plate appearances. But let's remember that he was one of the youngest players in the 2018 New York-Penn League (typically a league for college players -- Valera was 18) season during which most of the strikeouts were accrued, and instead shift our focus to those who have seen Valera on the Arizona backfields, where he has easily spent the most time since signing. There, including in the Fall of 2020, Valera has the best combination of feel for contact and power among his peers in this system. Among the other teenagers, Valera looks like a jazz bassist jamming with a group of teenagers who taught themselves the guitar using Blink-182 tabs. He has great in-the-box rhythm and timing, unloading on pitches with veteran anticipation. When Valera's curt, all-fields uppercut swing connects just right, you'd swear you were watching a young Robinson Canó, and like Canó, Valera is going to hit some emphatic, picturesque dingers. While his swinging style will likely always cause him to whiff more than average, he has the most potent hit/power combination in this system and there are scouts who think he should be ranked first in the org. Because he has so little actual pro experience, he is likely to play a corner outfield spot -- I liked Valera's defensive instincts enough to keep him alive in center field on last year's list, but folks who saw him this Fall only watched him in right, so center seems to less likely to me now --and due to his track record of swinging and missing, other scouts think he should slide behind the hit-first middle infielders ranked a few spots behind him here. It's very important for Valera to have a full, healthy 2021 since he's part of huge contingent of prospects who need to be added to the 40-man next offseason. (Alternate site, Fall Instructional League)