With Phillies, catching prospect Valle finds opportunity and a mentor in Ruiz

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Serendipity can play a bigger role than we'd like to admit. Seemingly minor decisions subtly alter our course, piling up one on top of the other for days and weeks and months and years until it's hard to figure out whether we got where we are through free will or if it's all just random chance.

Sebastian Valle is the starting catcher for the Clearwater Threshers, the Phillies' top Class A affiliate. He is the consensus pick as the No. 1 catching prospect in the organization.

But where would the 20-year-old native of Los Mochis, Mexico, be now if he hadn't been invited to the Latin American games in Venezuela when he was still just 15?

Or what if he had been asked but for some reason couldn't participate?

And what if the starting catcher hadn't gotten hurt or the coaches had asked somebody else to go behind the plate when he did?

And what if he hadn't stepped up and hit a pair of home runs with a wooden bat, so impressing Phillies scouts Jesus Mendez and Oliero Anziani that they immediately called international supervisor Sal Agostinelli and told him he should get down to take a look at this kid?

"It was good luck for me," Valle, with Lakewood trainer Mickey Kozack acting as his translator, said last week at Bright House Field.

Buena suerte, because even though there are more Latin players than ever throughout baseball, Mexico is underrepresented. There were 86 players from the Dominican Republic on major league Opening Day rosters this year and 62 Venezuelans. There were eight players from Mexico.

"I think it's a little harder, because it's not quite as organized as the Dominican and Venezuela and some of the other countries. It's a little harder to get noticed and recognized," added Valle, who was placed on the 7-day disabled list Saturday. "It definitely would have been a lot harder if I didn't go to the tournament."

Lucky for the Phillies, too. It was just a few years ago that the organization had collected some impressive catching depth. But Lou Marson was traded to the Indians in the Cliff Lee trade and Travis D'Arnaud went to the Blue Jays for Roy Halladay and Jason Jaramillo was sent to the Pirates for catcher Ronny Paulino, who was in turn flipped to the Giants for lefthanded reliever Jack Taschner. Now they're actively trying to rebuild their inventory.