Valencia and Cobble Hill executed a trade via an unconventional route this past couple of weeks when they used the Rule 5 draft to make it happen.
With the eighth pick in the first round of the Rule 5 draft Cobble Hill snatched first baseman Ricardo Norris. The twenty-two year old spent last season in AA where he hit .269/.361 along with 8 home runs. While the Valencia front office liked his bat, his below average range and glove at first base was a factor in leaving Norris available to be taken.
When the second pick of the second round occurred, Valencia returned the favor by snatching centerfielder Lenya Adlerov from the Robins. While Lenya is a few years older at 26 years of age, the Stars' front office were trying to fill the true centerfielder void with Lenya's 9 range. Lenya hit .230/.256 with 7 homers in the last half of 2063 with the Robins' AAA farm club in San Francisco.
In other Rule 5 action, Valencia also lost pitcher Pedro Guevara to the Calgary Pioneers. After a successful 2062 season in Short Season A where he went 8-1 with a 2.32 ERA, last season was not as kind in Single A as he posted a 2-4 record with a 5.45 ERA.
In the opening round with the second pick, Valencia nabbed pitcher Pedro Uralde out of the Sacramento farm system. The closer has impressive ratings for being in the Rule 5 pool. His stats in Single A and AA were also promising as he posted sub 2.00 ERA's and 1.00 or lower WHIPs. Time will tell whether or not the 23 year-old flyball pitcher can keep the ball in the park enough to help out the rest of the Stars' bullpen.
Valencia picked up another centerfielder candidate in Billy Bonnar from Phoenix. Billy was picked up in the third round as part of Valencia's shotgun approach to stop the bleeding from their gaping hole in centerfield. Billy in .237/.332 in AAA last season. Only Bonner or Aderlov will stay with the team in all likelihood.
At the end of the day, Valencia lost two players and gained three. Uralde is probably going to stick for the entire season. We will see about the other four players as the season unfolds.
