Jackson Valera

Was a later season signing after the release of Emmauel Tapia. He Signed on June 16th. He played in 64 games scored 23 runs, 75 hits, 11 doubles, 3 Home Runs, 45 RBI’s, 2 Stolen Bases, 12 walks, and 29 Strikeouts. He had Batting Average of 293, OBP 325, Slg, 371, and an OPS of 696. He played mostly 1st were he had 53 games played and 3rd he played 14 games. I know the math doesn’t add up but they counted some games where he started in on spot but finished the game in a different position. He had a fielding % of 973 and committed 8 errors.

His Best Offensive game was September 3rd against The Milwaukee Milkmen where The RailCats won 11-9. Valera went 4 for 6 scored 1 run and drove in 3 plus a 2 run Homerun.

Last year Valera was a big discussion among the fan base mostly where he was hitting. Most of the time he jumped from 2 to clean up. Most fans I talked to about him they though he was to high in the lineup with they lack of power he prodonced. I argued that he was in the perfect spot. He’s a hitter plain a simple. He was 4th in RBI’s and played 33 less games then the top 3 and was only 21 RBI’s from the top.

To me Valera is the kind of ballplayer the RailCats need. Someone can produce and keep the line moving. He’s a solid fielder. The biggest thing I see from Jackson is he’s consisently working on his craft but he’s always has a smile on his face. Jackson reminds me of a Californa surfer, he may be care free and joking on the field but when it comes down to business he will be there when you need him and he will be a Key piece to the RailCats in the 2024 season! WELCOME BACK JACKSON VALERA!!

Francisco Del Valle

He played in 97 Games, Had 347 At-Bats 55 runs scored, 94 hits, 18 doubles, 1 triple, 10 Homeruns, 58 RBI’s, 39 walks, 56 Strikeouts, 5 stolen bases, 1 caught stealing. A Batting Average of 271, OBP 349, SLG 415, OPS 764.

He played 92 games in the outfield 31 in Left and 61 in Right. Had a FLD% of 970 and 5 errors.

Best Offensive game was on September 3rd in a win over the Milkmen 11-9. He went 4-6 3 runs scored 5 RBI’s 1 double and a 3 run Homerun.

Del Valle was the RailCats Homerun leader of 2024. I believe he could have had more but through most of the season he went through spells of hitting 1 or 2 every other week but he ended the season strong hitting 3 homeruns in the last 10 games. His move from left to right helped out his defense which is something he struggled with last year. It wasn’t so much catching and throwing it was more reading the ball of the bat. Playing the outfield 90% of making a play if how well you read the ball, speed is nice but that first step is the most important and once he went to Right he looked 100 times better. But, with that said I could see him playing more of a DH role and there’s nothing wrong with that one bit. WELCOME BACK FRANCISCO DEL VALLE!

Franklin Perez

Franklin Perez 26 years old from Venezuela his a right handed pitcher who is 6-3 and weighs 197. He was a Free Agent signing of the Houston Astros on July 2nd, 2014. He played 7 seasons in the Astro’s system reaching double A in 2017 where he played in 7 games and started in 6 and had an ERA of 3.66 in 32 innings.

Looking at his 7 season, Perez had a record of 11-16 ERA of 4.32. Played in 79 games started in 55 of them. He had 1 complete game which happened in 2017 in High-A. He also had 4 saves in 271 Innings. He gave up 257 Hits, 145 Runs, 17 Homeruns, 114 Walks and Struck out 259. His WHIP was 1.369, H/9 of 8.5, HR/9 of .6, BB/9 of 3.8 and K/9 of 8.6.

Perez’s stats do jump out and say why did he get released but looking at his last 4 season you can kind of season why His ERA was 6.33. But he has a high ceiling for the American Association and could fill the Ace role for the RailCats. He is a player I have high hopes for a looking for a Big 2024 season for the ‘Cats. WELCOME TO THE RAILCATS!