Dodgers select Jesmuel Valentin with the 51st pick in the 2012 MLB Draft

The Dodgers added a middle infielder to their draft class, nabbing another player with baseball lineage with the 51st overall pick. They tagged Jesmuel Valentin from the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy as their pick. He's the son of one-time Dodger Jose Valentin.

From ESPN:

"The son of former big-league infielder Jose Valentin has had a strong season and showed well recently, including at the Excellence Tournament in Puerto Rico late last week. He's a teammate of Carlos Correa, perhaps the No. 2 overall prep prospect in the entire class, so Valentin plays mainly second base. He's capable at short, however, and has enough arm to play there long term. He's a switch hitter, and though there are some questions about the lack of future power, there is bat speed to support a pro career."

Maybe some of that No. 1 pick goodness will have rubbed off on Valentin. Seems like a good glove, high contact, little power guy. Here's hoping he's a better hitter than his father (.243/.321/.448).

This pick reminds me of the Alex Santana pick from a year ago, though, Valentin doesn't seem like as big a reach here.

Admittedly, I don't know the first thing about this guy, other than what's written above. Maybe he can be like Ivan De Jesus (more bloodlines!).

A funny coincidence: De Jesus was the 51st overall pick in 2005 out of Puerto Rico. Valentin was the same. It was meant to be.

Here's a video, courtesy of Baseball Instinct:



From earlier: The Dodgers select Corey Seager with No. 18 overall. He's the brother of Kyle Seager, Mariners' infielder.