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Number 14
Derniche Valdez SS
Age: 17 Years Old
Level: Rookie Ball
Joined the organization via: IFA Signing in 2023
2023 Stats: .228/.366/.491 4 HR, 3 2B 3 SB, 13 RBI, 11 R
I’ve got a hard time not getting excited when I see these uber young, uber talented prospects. They could absolutely fall flat. Kevin Maitan was supposed to be the end all-be all (to the point that the Braves cheated to sign him), and then so were Yadier Alvarez, Lazaro (Lazarito) Armenteros, Julio Pablo Martinez, Victor Victor Mesa and even Yoan Moncada have disappointed.
That being said, Valdez is extremely interesting. I wrote something up on him earlier this week, but to sum all of that up a little more, he’s a little guy that should stick at short and he’s already getting to his raw power seemingly easily. I mentioned Aliendo’s ISO of .240 being impressive, but Valdez’s .263 ISO is even more impressive. Basically what it means, is when he’s hitting the ball, he’s hitting the ball hard.
It’s nice when guys are hitting for power at Double-A or Triple-A. But even though it’s only at Rookie ball, Valdez is only 17 years old. If he made it to Low-A this season and spent a full season subsequently at High-A, Double-A or Triple-A he’d be in the majors at the age of 21. Anything can happen to derail that, but anything can happen to make it happen even faster. Valdez is a guy with legit star-power that Cubs fans should absolutely be excited about.