From bit player to cleanup man
MESA, Ariz. — Most players labeled “platoon” seldom shake that tag, and if they do so, it’s maybe after their first year or two as they get adjusted to the major leagues.
Seldom does a big-leaguer break out of the platoon category in his 30s, but third baseman Danny Valencia was not going to simply accept the role.
“He’s a competitive guy,” Oakland hitting coach Darren Bush said. “When you believe you should be playing every day and you’re not, some guys can fold and some guys can rise. With Danny’s competitiveness and his confidence, he rose.”
Valencia, 31, has homered in four of his past five games this spring, including a two-out, two-run blast on an 0-2 pitch Saturday in the A’s 7-6 win over the Reds. He also doubled and he’s batting .385 this spring.
Two of his homers have come off right-handers — and last year, after Oakland claimed him on waivers from Toronto, Valencia belted eight of his 11 homers off right-handed pitchers. He hit .289 with a .903 OPS against righties, .273 with an .843 OPS versus lefthanders.
He went straight into Oakland’s cleanup spot and stayed there. So much for being a platoon guy.
“Sometimes you’re a little combative about the fact someone is labeling you,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “I called him after we made the deal off waivers and I told him our expectations and he told me right away, ‘I hit righties just as well as I hit lefties.’ “I said, ‘Well, if you stay in there and get the opportunity to do that, I’d like to see that.’ And he did that from Day One.”
Out of nowhere, essentially, the A’s found a middle-of-the-order hitter who isn’t a free agent until after next season, a player who hit 18 homers combined between Toronto and Oakland last year despite his part-time status with the Blue Jays
What might he do playing every day?
“I don’t put numbers on anything, but I think he’s going to give you a competitive at-bat every day and you know he’s going to be prepared,” Bush said. “You’re not going to find anyone more prepared. Danny puts his work in.”
Valencia is dedicated to his craft, and that maybe goes a little unseen, especially for a player who has played for six organizations in the past four years — but the A’s took note. And when they had choice to make this offseason between moving him or Brett Lawrie, they traded Lawrie.
As it turns out, all that moving around was a major plus for Valencia. He learned a lot at every stop — especially from watching Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion last year in Toronto.
“It was watching those guys drive the ball against righties, staying on the ball,” Valencia said. “When you have power, it’s easy to pull the ball, but it’s a gift and a curse. If you can hit the ball the other way, it keeps you on the ball longer. Up until last year, I struggled with being able to hit the ball out to opposite field, and once I was able to do that I was able to have more success.”
Bush said that one thing that stands out about Valencia is that “his bat is in the zone for a very long time. When that happens, you give yourself a really good chance to succeed.”
“I remember Joe Mauer used to talk about that — being quick in and out of the zone, you really give yourself one chance, but if you’re in the zone a long time, balls that beat you can bloop in,” said Valencia, naming Miguel Cabrera as one player he studies on video. “Great players who hit for average, the bat is in the zone, so I watched guys with success doing it and I try to emulate them, but it’s so hard, I haven’t been consistent with it.”
Billy Butler played with Valencia in Kansas City in 2014, so he’s seen the transformation from bit player to cleanup man.
‘You don’t see guys too often doing what he’s doing later in his career,” Butler said. “You’ve got to give him credit for what he’s doing, obviously: He’s in his 30s and playing the best baseball of his career.”