Valencia, who went 3-for-5 with an RBI single and a double in Monday's 6-5 win over the Rockies, is hitting .333 in his 25 plate appearances since returning from a three-game absence due to a wrist injury.
The veteran infielder also sports a 42.1 percent hard contact rate over that stretch and has now hit safely in seven straight games. Valencia has been much better overall during May after hitting just .181 in April, as he's slashed .311./.367/.467 while compiling a .361 wOBA during the month. His strikeout rate still leaves plenty of room for improvement, but he's had much better fortune when making contact recently; after generating a .222 BABIP in April, Valencia has seen a notable boost to .391 in that category during the current month.