A.L.L. Majors: Valencia uses every inch for power

The kid squeezes power out of every inch. All 59 of them.

Tuesday night against Tempe Rio Salado, A.J. Valencia demonstrated with authority why teams shouldn't underestimate the 4-foot-11, left-handed leadoff hitter for Ahwatukee Little League's Majors All-Stars.

In the first inning - after his team had already batted around - Valencia drilled a line drive over the fence in center field for his first home run of the all-star season. Two innings later, the center fielder hit a moon shot for his second of the day.

"It's fun," Valencia said. "When I'm running on the bases, they're like ‘Nice hit, little man.'"

Valencia's manager, Jake Dominy, can't help but smile when he thinks about teams facing him for the first time.

"He bats lead-off, little lefty kid," Dominy said. "They're always like, ‘Bunt! Watch the bunt!' I'm like, ‘Alright ...'"

Dominy has seen Valencia play since he was 9. And while Valencia has always consistently gotten on, it wasn't until this season that he developed a power stroke.

"He used to be really a slapper, a lefty slapper," Dominy said.

But against Dominy's team during the regular Little League season, Valencia crushed three homers in a game. He finished the season with six, second only to Michael Popeck, his teammate on the all-stars.

"Toward the end of the season, he just got this power thing going," Dominy said. "And now, he's just got a nice, smooth swing. He's a threat. Yeah, he's a threat. ... A.J. probably is the most consistent home run hitter in practice."

Then again, Valencia has been pretty consistent during the all-star season.

The very next game following his two-homer performance, against Chandler National North on Wednesday, Valencia again went yard twice. He now has four home runs in his past seven at-bats, and the secret's officially out: Valencia can hit.

Valencia credits Dominy's insistence that his hitters approach each at-bat in search of a line drive for the home runs.

"I was thinking of getting a base hit and a line drive, but I got a line-drive home run, I guess," he said.

Added Dominy of the strategy: "We try to get them away from hitting fly balls, because if the wind's ever blowing in (the park will hold them), and the other thing is, once they get older on bigger fields, these Little League home runs are outs.

"We're trying to get them into good habits. Home runs are line drives when you miss it a little bit."

Tuesday night, Valencia's second shot wasn't much of a line drive, a towering shot to center that rustled a few trees.

"Yeah," he said, "I was kind of going for that one."

Contact writer: (480) 898-4906 or rcasey@ahwatukee.com.