Former Los Angeles Dodgers catching prospect Jefferson Valladares retired to become a coach for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the Washington Nationals’ Class-A affiliate.
Valladares played five seasons in the minors, the first four of which came with the Dodgers.
Who is Jefferson Valladares?
The catcher began his journey through the minor leagues with the Dodgers, who signed him out of Venezuela in 2019. Valladares was one of a few Venezuelan catching prospects in the Dodgers’ system alongside Diego Cartaya and Keibert Ruiz.
Both Cartaya and Ruiz eventually left the Dodgers via trade, but Valladares remained with the Dodgers and trudged his way through L.A.’s farm system. The catcher didn’t make a professional appearance within the Dodgers system until 2021, when he made his debut in the Dominican Summer League. He had an .826 OPS through 22 games that season, and had a .935 OPS through 45 games the following season.
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After his success in the DSL, Valladares came stateside to play in the Arizona Complex League in 2023. Through his first season in the ACL, Valladares had a .874 OPS with three homers and 10 RBIs.
He began the 2024 season in the Complex League once again, but rose to Class-A Rancho Cucamonga midway through the season. He had respectable numbers at the new level, posting a .753 OPS through 15 games with a .271/.357/.396 slash line.
Valladares relocated after 2024, with the Minnesota Twins picking him up in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft. He began the year in Class-A, though his numbers weren’t quite where he would have liked. He had a .570 OPS through 53 games, but still managed a promotion to High-A within the Twins organization.
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The catcher performed much better in High-A, slashing .258/.347/.409 through 22 games played. With the season over, though, the 23-year-old is clearly content with his baseball career and is ready to move on to managing the game.
Valladares will serve as a coach under Blue Rocks manager Ted Tom For the upcoming season as they look to claw themselves out of last place in the South Atlantic League North.
