Philippe Valiquette

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Cincinnati Reds #29 prospect in 2011
  Valiquette's scouting report for the past six years has been numbingly consistent: great arm, needs to develop a feel for a second pitch. That was true when he signed with the Reds in 2004, and it's still true nearly seven years later. Valiquette will play the entire 2011 season at 24, and he'll get plenty more chances because it's hard to find a lefty who can run it up to 97-98 mph. At the same time, he still has little feel for pitching and shows wavering command that often forces him to take something off his fastball to get it over the plate. He will sometimes shake off calls for his slider, though it's a usable pitch with average potential. With his fastball, that would be plenty to make it effective. His changeup is a show-me pitch at best. Valiquette's delivery has plenty of effort and he doesn't always get all the pieces to work together, which affects his command. The Reds may eventually run out of patience, but Valiquette's stuff is good enough that he will get plenty of time to figure out how to be a big league reliever--he still has less than 400 pro innings. He'll head to Triple-A for another try at mastering his slider, and if he does that he has the stuff to work late in games.
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  Ranked Cincinnati Reds #23 prospect in 2010
  A seventh-round pick in 2004, Valiquette is the only player left from that Reds draft who's still in the organization and hasn't made it to the big leagues. His path to Double-A involved several stops and starts. Promoted to low Class A in 2005 before he was ready, he was shelled on the mound and struggled to adjust to life as a full-time baseball player. The Quebec native spoke little English when he signed, which added to his struggles. He eventually went home during the 2006 season, but decided to return to the game the following year. He has shown improved maturity and a better ability to fit in with his teammates since coming back. As with Pedro Viola, Valiquette's success always has revolved around unusual velocity for a lefty and little else. He mostly sits at 93-94 mph and touches 96 with his fastball. He has improved his slider to the point where it's usable, but it's still below average. He also has fiddled with a changeup but with little success. His control and command also leaves something to be desired. Because he was drafted as a 17-year-old, Valiquette is still relatively young. He could fill a need as a low-cost lefty out of the pen before too long, but his ceiling is relatively low because of his inability to develop a solid second pitch.
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  Ranked Cincinnati Reds #20 prospect in 2006
  Valiquette is both one of the most raw and most intriguing players in the system. A native of Pierrefonds, Quebec, he's blessed with an uncommon left arm. Despite a very slight, 6- foot, 175-pound frame and relatively easy motion, he can touch 95 mph with his fastball. But he's still pure projection and has no usable secondary pitches yet, as his curveball and changeup are well below average. As a Canadian high school product, he has few innings under his belt, though he did pitch for the Canadian junior national team. A visa shortage kept Valiquette from making his pro debut until 2005, when the Reds inexplicably sent him to low Class A to begin his career. Predictably, he was torched by older hitters who feasted on his one-pitch approach. Cincinnati thought he had the makeup to risk the lofty assignment, and he seemed to hold up mentally. A native French speaker, he also has handled the language adjustment well. Valiquette is years away from the majors, but the Reds believe he's athletic enough to pick up solid secondary pitches. He'll likely return to low Class A this year.