Eduardo Valencia has Scott Harris excited for the future

On the Tigers' final episode of Behind the Stripes, a behind-the-scenes look at the organization that airs on YouTube, Detroit showcased many of its younger players who look to help build the foundation of the franchise's future.

It's a future that Tigers general manager Scott Harris is excited about, especially at one positional group.

"I'm really excited for the future of the Tigers at the catching position," Harris said, discussing how impactful Eduardo Valencia has been since finally arriving in the big leagues.

Valencia's journey to the majors wasn't nearly as straightforward as Kevin McGonigle's or Max Clark's. Instead, he battled for nine years, doing everything the right way and remaining patient while waiting for his opportunity.

"I mean, it's so special. I wait long for that time. I wait long for my MLB debut. You know, guys like Kevin, those guys, like three years, they're playing MLB debut, you know, and for me, it's like my ninth year. This is my ninth year with the Tigers," Valencia said.

But Valencia just kept working. He arrived in the organization at an early age and had no easy road to get where he is today. However, that never stopped him from battling every day.

Valencia's keep-your-head-down-and-grind mentality was noticed by everyone around him. Max Clark spoke about watching Valencia's journey firsthand.

"I've known Valencia since the very beginning, and I can speak on this pretty deeply because I've watched him when I was in Low-A. Valencia was always raking. Like, whenever he was playing, he was raking. You know, he traveled here at 16 years old. He's been with the organization for 10 years. And then last year, when we were in AA, he was playing once a week. So, you know, he's not getting a ton of playing time. One of our catchers in AA went down, and so Valencia started playing again. And next thing you know, you look up and he had a 30-homer season between AA and AAA. Great story for that guy because he just never quit," Clark said.

Valencia understood his role in Detroit's organization from the time he joined as a young teenager. He expressed how his time in the minor leagues happened for a reason and that he was simply playing the long game.

"I think I learned about every level. I think that every level is for a reason. I take my time, but I think the time is perfect. I learn every level to get here to do my best when I came here and majorly, and I think this is the moment and this is the perfect time for being here. This is the perfect time for being a Tiger, you know, and we are like. I love this baseball. I love to play, I love to be on the field," Valencia said.

The Tigers now have a great pairing behind the plate with Dillon Dingler and Eduardo Valencia. Both catchers bring plenty of offensive potential, including the ability to go deep at any time. Valencia proved that in his first and nearly last game of the season.

In his first game with the major league club, Valencia came in as a pinch hitter and had just one at-bat. It was no surprise that he took advantage of the opportunity and crushed the ball, clearing the home run wall and getting his MLB career off and running.

Valencia went yard again in his third game of the season before hitting two more home runs in his seventh game.

He capped off his season in dramatic fashion, hitting a walk-off home run that seemed made for the big screen to give Detroit a win in Justin Verlander's final start of the season.

The Tigers battled throughout the game, and with Hao-Yu Lee on base, two strikes and two outs, Valencia launched a ball over the left-field wall. Tigers TV play-by-play broadcaster Jason Benetti summed it up perfectly: "Hollywood, line one."

It was a season for Valencia that seemed like it was written by a Hollywood screenwriter.

Now, it will be up to Valencia to continue wanting more, digging deep and finding ways to be even better next year than he was this season. After everything he went through to reach the big leagues, he has already shown that he isn't going to give up on himself.