By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

After a stellar prep career at Nogales (Ariz.) High School, Rafael Valenzuela was selected in the 25th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft by the Kansas City Royals. Valenzuela didn't sign and helped Cochise (Ariz.) College, and the University of Arizona for three seasons before the 2009 draft.

In June, Valenzuela talked with several teams for the draft, including the Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals. He wasn't drafted and didn't sign as a free agent.

"We didn't see eye-to-eye when it came to negotiations so that is why I didn't go," he said.

After the draft, Valenzuela spoke with Arizona teammate Codi Harshman, a Hays Larks pickup, who told Valenzuela that Hays needed players. After a discussion with Hays manager Frank Leo, Valenzuela joined the Larks on June 13 for the club's eighth game of the season.

For the second time and third team in three years, Valenzuela has helped. Valenzuela, a third baseman/outfielder, has played in nearly every contest, has become acclimated to Kansas' climate, and carries one of the Larks' highest batting averages.

"My friend Codi Harshman, he was the one that was supposed to be here and I wasn't even supposed to play, but he gave me a call," Valenzuela said. "He said we need a couple guys, so I called Coach Leo and he said, 'We need a couple guys, so just bring yourself up, so that is why I am here.' "

The effervescent Valenzuela, known for his positive approach and constant energy, was the second-to-last position player added to the Larks' roster. He made an immediate impact, batting .375 (24-for-54), second for Hays behind leadoff hitter Brandon Eckerle.

The Larks (14-10) will start a three-game non-league series this weekend against the Colorado Sox. The teams will play a doubleheader Saturday starting at 6 p.m. and a single game Sunday beginning at 6:30 p.m.

In league play, Valenzuela carries a .367 average, second-best to Eckerle and sixth-best in the Jayhawk League, according to updated statistics at jayhawkbaseballleague.org. Mainly batting cleanup, Valenzuela is tied for the team lead in homers (three). He carries the team's best walk/strikeout ratio among players with at least 20 at-bats (seven walks/six strikeouts).

His strikeout rate of one per 10.7 at-bats is second-best on the team to Eckerle -- contact that Leo wants in the middle of the order.

"What we are looking for is somebody that is going to put the ball in play in the four hole on a consistent basis," Leo said. "I don't think we have a real true RBI machine in the four hole. We are trying to a guy that is going to make consistent contact right now and Rafa is our choice at this point."

Valenzuela has played well at every level. At Nogales, Valenzuela was a two-time team captain, a three-time honorable mention all-state selection, and picked up All-Kino Region three times, including first team honors his senior season.

He was drafted by the Royals before electing to head to junior college. At the time, he was 6-foot-1, 160 pounds and received little interest from Division I schools.

"Most of them told me to go to a year of junior college and that is what I did," he said. "I got a little bit bigger and got a little bit more weight, had a good year my freshman year and then started getting offers from other schools, landed at UA."

He played one year at Cochise College, earned team MVP honors, first team all-region and first team all-conference after he paced the squad in homers (seven), doubles (19) and RBIs (60).

"When I got out of high school, they didn't expect as much as I am doing right now," he said. "I am just trying to prove a lot of people wrong saying I wasn't going to make it or anything."

In 2008, he joined Arizona's program. A versatile player, Valenzuela could play the middle infield or a corner outfielder spot. He batted .259 in 58 at-bats in 2008 and appeared in 31 games (13 starts).

This spring, Valenzuela, now at 190 pounds, batted .277 with 25 starts for a Wildcat team that finished 30-25, 13-14 in the Pac-10 conference.

"At Arizona, I came in as a shortstop, but moving all over the place," he said.

"Played every position except pitching and catching. Just working out there everyday just really helped me out a lot."

Like many possible draftees, Valenzuela postponed summer plans until the draft. He and his advisor talked with teams on the first and second day of the draft in early June but nothing materialized.

"Our negotiations didn't work. Just go back to school and go for my last year," he said.

The Larks, looking to bolster a roster that wasn't settled until after the summer started, picked up Valenzuela as a third baseman/outfielder. In his first game, Valenzuela showed his talent and personality when he laced an inside pitch for a homer and finished 2-for-4 with an RBI in a 4-2 Larks victory against Liberal.

"Up and inside, that is my money pitch," he said. "The pitcher throws me up and in, I am probably not going to miss it."

After Kurt Wunderlich tossed a complete game for the win, Valenzuela ran in from the outfield and bearhugged the pitcher. In the dugout, Valenzuela, wearing a big smile, walked up to Wunderlich to celebrate the win. It's an approach Valenzuela learned from his family, especially his parents, Rafael and Lupita.

"I think it comes from my parents because my dad is a really happy guy," he said. "He is always smiling, all my family is always smiling. We are always dancing around, I think that is where it comes from. It really helps out on the field because I don't get down any."

Valenzuela carried a perpetual smile when he discussed his second day in Hays.

He went to the gym with Josh Garcia, an Arizona signee from South Mountain Community College. Valenzuela, a Tucson, Ariz. native, heard a weather report on the radio while working out.

"I get kind of scared when I listen to the radio, tornado warnings, tornado watch," he said with a laugh. "They said over the intercom that there was a tornado warning. Josh, 'We need to get out of here. I want to get home safe. We just looked at each other and we made a face. It's either we run to the bathroom or something, but we got to keep ourselves safe."

The pair, which doesn't hear tornado warnings in Arizona, eventually stayed at the gym after they saw no one was leaving. On the field, Valenzuela has stayed comfortable, including hitting safely in every game since June 26 (he missed one contest because of illness), including a .381 average in 21 July at-bats.