Eduardo

Valencia

Valencia gets a look behind the plate for Saturday afternoon’s matinee in the Motor City with Dillon Dingler getting a break from the field at DH. The 26-year-old rookie backstop has cooled off in recent weeks, but he’s still hitting .333 (24-for-72) with six homers and 17 RBI in 25 games since early July.

Dingler has been really struggling at the dish lately, slashing a woeful .071/.148/.107 with zero homers, four RBI and a 14/4 K/BB ratio over 61 plate appearances in his last 14 games, so giving him a day off to clear his head makes plenty of sense. Eduardo Valencia will do the catching for the Tigers and bat cleanup against Daniel Lynch IV and the Royals on Sunday afternoon in Kansas City.

Valencia has been a sneaky impactful fantasy contributor this season, hitting .389 (21-for-54) with six homers and 17 RBI in 19 games. He’s not going to deliver a ton of volume with All-Star backstop Dillon Dingler firmly entrenched as Detroit’s starting catcher, but he’s worthy of a roster spot in most fantasy leagues, especially two-catcher formats.

Valencia put the Tigers on the board with a single in the first inning to drive in a run. He then led off the fourth inning with a solo homer off Anthony Kay. The home run was his sixth of the season while hitting .404/.426/.865 across just 54 plate appearances, though he’s been mostly limited to a short-side platoon.

Valencia is hitting .381/.381/.952 versus left-handers and .391/.440/.739 against right-handers this year. We dunno what he has to do to get more work — we understand the Tigers can’t exactly bench Dillon Dingler, but there is a DH spot. This was Valencia’s first action since August 9 and he’s appeared in just seven games this month despite the hot bat.

Valencia was right in the middle of the action as the Tigers plated four runs in the fourth inning and four runs in the eighth. The 26-year-old has done nothing but hit when called upon this season, as he now owns a ridiculous .452/.469/.935 batting line through 32 plate appearances. He deserves more opportunities down the stretch for Detroit.

Oh, so that’s why Detroit DFA’d Jake Rogers. The Tigers started both of their catchers tonight, with Dillon Dingler serving as a DH, and Valencia, who was recalled Monday, hit his third and fourth homers in just seven games (four starts) as a major leaguer. True, the second one tonight was hit off Chadwick Tromp, but this still an awfully impressive start. He’s the first player to have four hits and two homers in one of his first seven career games since Jose Siri in 2021 and second since Danny Espinosa in 2010.

The Tigers needed a spot on the active roster to activate Javier Baez from the 60-day IL, so Rogers was let go. The Tigers will go forward with Eduardo Valencia as their backup catcher.

Valencia comes back up to join Detroit’s bench for Monday’s series opener against the Orioles with Kerry Carpenter hitting the shelf with plantar fasciitis. The 26-year-old rookie hit .417 (5-for-12) with two homers and three RBI during six games with the Tigers earlier this month.

Valencia heads back to the minors to make room for Gleyber Torres on Detroit’s active roster ahead of Monday’s contest against Chicago. The 26-year-old backstop hit .417 (5-for-12) with two homers and three RBI during six games with the Tigers in his first taste of the majors. He’ll be back at some point later this year.