Valencia, who went 3-for-4 in Sunday's 8-1 loss to the White Sox, is batting .406 through nine games this month.
Valencia had half of Detroit's six hits as a team Sunday, and his lack of counting stats can be attributed to a struggling lineup around him. Nonetheless, the rookie has been raking with three multi-hit performances over his last five games, and he's now batting a robust .339 overall with a .974 OPS across 109 at-bats this season. It's still a relatively small sample, but Valencia is certainly making a strong case for an expanded role heading into 2027.