Jose A. Valdez

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Detroit Tigers #23 prospect in 2016
  Valdez has long tantalized with his stuff, but he has just as often frustrated with his location. Valdez spent three seasons in the Dominican Summer League, including the 2010 season when he missed 50 games because he tested positive for Boldenone, an anabolic steroid. He didn't reach full-season ball in the low Class A Midwest League until he was 23 in 2012. His high-octane stuff is just as powerful as it was a year ago, but his strikeout rate went from 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings in Double-A in 2014 down to 6.8 per nine in 2015 in Triple-A Toledo. Valdez struggled with his command, while Triple-A hitters were more accustomed to seeing pitchers with Valdez's stuff and able to lay off pitches that he would get hitters to chase at the lower levels. Valdez has two plus pitches in his 93-98 mph fastball and 84-88 mph slider. The slider is an out pitch that misses bats, but he has to figure out when to throw the knockout slider and when to tone it down a notch to be able to throw if for a strike. He doesn't throw either pitch for a strike often enough, so he's frequently working from behind in the count and putting too many hitters on base via the walk. He mixes in an occasional firm, below-average changeup, but he's primarily a two-pitch guy.
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  Ranked Detroit Tigers #17 prospect in 2015
  Valdez used steroids early in his career, which cost him a 50-game suspension when he was in the Dominican Summer League in 2010 after he tested positive for Boldenone, and he didn't make it to fullseason ball until he was 23 in 2012. Since then, Valdez has garnered attention for his high-octane stuff, though everything about his game is erratic. A pure reliever, Valdez throws 93-98 mph with good angle. He has two plus pitches when he has his slider working, for it's a hard, three-quarters breaking ball that can miss bats in the high 80s and even reach into the low 90s at times. He has a changeup as well, though it's below-average. Valdez is a high-energy pitcher with a long arm action, effort to his delivery and a tendency to overthrow, which causes bouts of wildness, though his control has improved the last two seasons. Even if Valdez develops fringe-average control, his stuff is good enough to beat major league hitters. He will advance to Triple-A Toledo with a chance to make his major league debut in 2015.
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  Ranked Detroit Tigers #18 prospect in 2014
  Catch him on the right night and Valdez will look like he should be pitching in the back of a big league bullpen. He has good arm speed, is extremely strong and has wipeout stuff, including a 93-98 mph fastball with plus life. He has a plus slider, a pitch he'll throw in the mid-80s at times or zip it up to 87-89 mph at others. Between two Class A stops in 2013, Valdez struck out 12.2 batters per nine innings, but he also walked 6.2 per nine. His lack of control and advanced age (23) in Class A can be partially attributed to his development path. He signed at an older age than most Dominican pitchers (19) in 2009, then at the end of July 2010 he was suspended for 50 games after testing positive for Boldenone while he was in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League. Valdez has sound arm action and a solid delivery, which might help him turn the corner with his control. He could pitch in high-leverage situations if he ever figures it out.