Sebastian Valle

Valle received what appeared to be an undeserved promotion to Triple-A last season after the Phillies acquired catching prospect Tommy Joseph from the Giants in July. The Phillies wanted both to keep catching so the decision was made to promote Valle despite his .261/.280/.435 slash line at Double-A. Valle, who has never been one to take a walk, struggled in his short stint at Triple-A. He'll likely be back there again this season, though the Phillies may try to use him as trade bait now that he has been passed by Joseph as the team's catcher of the future. Just 22 years old and already at Triple-A, Valle is a solid prospect, but it may be a few years yet before he is ready for an opportunity in the majors.

Valle hit .284/.312/.394 with five home runs in 348 at-bats for High-A Clearwater last season. Valle was hitting over .300 until he started to slow down in July and then went into a slump in August. He also saw his home run numbers dip quite a bit from his 2010 campaign at Low-A Lakewood. Valle will likely be promoted to Double-A this year. He still has some work to do with his eye at the plate as he walked just 13 times all season. We'll also be watching to see if his power returns now that he will be out of the pitcher friendly Florida State League.

Valle hit .255/.298/.430 with 16 home runs in 447 at-bats at Low-A Lakewood last year and followed that up by hitting .281/.304/.494 with eight home runs in 160 regular season at-bats in the Mexican Pacific League. Valle continues to hit for power but has failed to display much of an eye at the plate thus far. The lack of discipline at the plate may result in low batting averages as Valle works his way through the minors but the power potential will keep him on the prospect radar.

Valle, who was signed as an amateur free agent in 2006, is considered the Phillies' top catching prospect in the minors. Scouts like both his offensive and defensive potential, but he has a lot of work to do refining both sides of his game. He's just 19 years old, so he has plenty of time to do this.