Pat Valaika (photo by Scott Chandler)
Photo by: Scott Chandler
UCLA's Pat Valaika Promoted to Colorado Rockies
September 06, 2016 | Baseball
Former standout infielder earns major league promotion
Former UCLA infielder Pat Valaika has earned his first-ever major league promotion and will join the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday, the organization has announced.
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Valaika, who could make his major league debut as early as Tuesday night in Denver, served as the Bruins' starting shortstop from 2011-13. He helped UCLA win its first-ever College World Series title as a junior in 2013. That year, he was selected in the ninth round of the MLB Draft by Colorado.
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Valaika, the older brother of current UCLA infielder Nick Valaika, has batted .257 in 136 total games this season. Bewteen games played in double-A and triple-A, Pat Valaika has registered 14 home runs, 41 doubles, 80 RBI and 74 runs. He logged a .269 batting average in 108 games at double-A Hartford prior to a midseason promotion to play for the Albuquerque Isotopes of the Pacific Coast League (AAA). He has batted .209 in 28 games for the Isotopes.
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With his major league promotion on Tuesday, Valaika joins seven other former UCLA baseball players currently in the big leagues, including three of his former teammates from UCLA's 2011 squad that secured the Pac-10 title โ Trevor Bauer, Gerrit Cole and Trevor Brown. Also representing UCLA in the majors right now are Chase Utley, Brandon Crawford, Erik Goeddel and Matt Grace.
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Through three seasons at UCLA, Valaika batted .254 with seven home runs, 35 doubles, seven triples and 107 RBI in 180 games (177 starts). He helped the Bruins to 132 wins over a three-year stretch, including consecutive conference titles in 2011 and 2012 before the national title in 2013.
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Valaika will have the opportunity to become the 78th player out of UCLA to compete in Major League Baseball. Once Valaika makes his major league debut, the UCLA baseball program will have had at least one player every season from 1965-2013 to have competed in the majors.
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Valaika can become the 15th former UCLA player under head coach John Savage to play in a major league game. In addition, he has become the sixth Bruin in the last three years to advance to the big leagues.
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His older brother, Chris Valaika, spent portions of four seasons in the majors, playing with the Cincinnati Reds (2010-11), the Miami Marlins (2013) and the Chicago Cubs (2014).
Players Mentioned
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