George Valera

Baseball player

George Valera
Valera in 2023
Cleveland Guardians – No. 76
Outfielder
Born: (2000-11-13) November 13, 2000 (age 23) Queens, New York, U.S.
Bats: Left Throws: Left

George Valera (born November 13, 2000) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Cleveland Guardians organization.

Career

Valera was born in Queens, New York and moved to San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic with his family when he was 13.^[1] He signed with the Cleveland Indians as an international free agent in July 2017.^[2]

Valera made his professional debut with the Arizona League Indians in 2018, batting .333 over six games.^[3] He started 2019 with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers and was promoted to the Lake County Captains near the season's end.^[4] Over 52 games between both teams, he batted .217 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs.^[5] He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.^[6] Valera split the 2021 season between Lake County and the Akron RubberDucks, slashing .260/.405/.505 with 19 home runs, 65 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases over 86 games.^[7]^[8]

The newly named Cleveland Guardians selected Valera to their 40-man roster on November 19, 2021.^[9]

Valera was optioned to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers to begin the 2023 season.^[10] In 73 games for the Clippers, he batted .211/.343/.375 with 10 home runs and 35 RBI. Valera was again optioned to Triple–A Columbus to begin the 2024 season.^[11]

References

^ Mitchell, Bill. "George Valera Is Growing Into His Own At Only 17". www.baseballamerica.com.
^ "Indians' George Valera: Cleveland signs toolsy outfield prospect". CBSSports.com.
^ "Top prospect finds home in Indians system". mlb.com.
^ "Life on the move | vindy.com". www.vindy.com. Archived from the original on 2019-06-29.
^ "No. 4 George Valera, OF: Cleveland Indians top prospects right now". April 7, 2020.
^ "George Valera Accelerates His Development".
^ "Counting the minutes until George Valera makes his Guardians debut: Podcast". December 8, 2021.
^ "No. 2 prospect George Valera makes instant impression with Rubber Ducks". Beaconjournal.com. 2021-09-05. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
^ "Guardians Announce Series Of 40-man Roster Moves". CleGuardians.com. November 19, 2021.
^ "Guardians' George Valera: Sent down to Triple-A camp". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
^ "Guardians' George Valera: Sent down to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 10, 2024.