Chris Valaika

Valaika is coming off of three consecutive mediocre Triple-A seasons at the plate and is now recovering from a torn ACL. It's unlikely that he'll project to be anything more than a utility player at the major league level, and it might even be a stretch to see him succeed at that.

Valaika has a better bat than fellow Reds infield prospect Zach Cozart, but he's just not strong enough defensively to stick at shortstop. The Reds came to this conclusion in 2010, moving him to second base to make room for Cozart at Triple-A Louisville. Unfortunately, Valaika's bat wasn't strong enough there to imbue much confidence in his ability to hit at the next level. He looks to have a career as a utility infielder at the major league level, if that.

Valaika was considered a lukewarm shortstop prospect because of his lack of range, but it was his bat that let him down in 2009, punctuated by a broken right hand in May that affected him even after he returned. He's on the 40-man roster now and could get a shot if/when Paul Janish falters, but first he'll have to re-establish his hitting bona fides at Louisville.

Valaika would be a higher profile prospect if he had a little bit more range defensively. As it stands, the consensus is that he won't be able to handle shortstop defensively in the majors, making third base a more likely destination. Unfortunately, he probably isn't going to hit for enough power to be an exceptional third baseman. In that vein, he's similar to fellow Reds prospect Todd Frazier, though Valaika is a better defender than Frazier, but Frazier hits with a little more power.

After tearing up the Low-A Midwest League, Valaika's progress really halted once he hit High-A Sarasota. A big concern here is Valaika's strike-zone judgment, manifested in a combined 30:114 BB:K ratio at two levels last season. A college draftee in the third round in 2006, Valaika really needs to step it up at High-A next year to be considered a legit prospect.