I'm with you. BP recently added a feature that takes a guy's current stats and projects him as a major leaguer now and at his peak (age 27). Vailaka's now numbers based on his AA season - .261/.304/.401/.705. HIs peak numbers look a little better at .281/.333/.438/.771. IMO he'd need to be Pokey Reese on defense to be more than a stopgap player. I suspect he'll be more powerful/less speedy (and hopefully a lot smarter) version of Ryan Freel. Which is ok while its cheap. He may end up a regular for a few years in a Ronnie Belliard kind of way (better comp than Young I think but Belliard had better OBP skills in the minors).
One thing that really struck me was Valaika's showing last fall in the Hawaiin league. He really struggled and didn't draw his first walk until well into the season. The Hawaiin league isn't a real high level league, but team's seem to put players there that at least have some reason for being interesting. It really made me wonder if Valaika will really struggle as he moves up the ladder and sees fewer "ham and eggers" on the mound.
I think Valaika's a 'tweener with not enough glove to justify his bat. He's having a decent year, but he's a guy I'd definitely shop in a prospects for player(s) deal.