Many are young Cuban players that are inserted into the system of Great Leagues. Unlike a decade ago, players left the island and with experience in absolute selections, now more and more are those of lower categories that seek to sign as soon as possible with an organization of MLB.
According to data offered by Cuban ballthis year there were 34 Antillians who managed to link to the MLB in the current period of signatures. Several names such as Naykel Cruz y Valiente Alexander They stand out in this list, because they looked in the Antillean leagues, and even the Zurdo Matancero It became part of the Cuba team.
Matanzas leads Cuban players in newly signed MLBs
There were a total of 34 Cuban players who signed their respective contracts with major league organizations in this period of signatures. There are representation of several provinces of the country being Artemis, Camagüey and Holguín the only territories that have no representation in this list.
Matanzas is the most represented territory in this group being Kevin Abroad y Naykel Cruz the names that stand out the most from their nine players.
Álvarez was classified by MLB Pipeline as the international prospect number seven and according to industry sources its value is around 2 million dollars. For its part, Naykel Cruzleft -handed that was part of the Cuba team, signed in June with Baltimore Orioles. He is currently in the Rookie class where he adds three victories, two losses, average clean of 4.58 and 28 strikeouts in 19.2 entries.
It also highlights the name of Valiente Alexanderright pitcher born in Guantanamo. This young man worked in three national series with his native province where he stood out for his speed and strikeout capacity (55 strikeouts in 40.2 chapters).
By organizations, the one that acquired more Cuban players was Baltimore Orioles with five. It is followed by Philadelphia Phillies with four firms and then Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates with three come.
Los Angeles Angels signed a pair of Antillians while Cleveland Guardians, Houston Astros, Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies were made with the services of one each.
List of Cuban players recently hired in MLB by provinces
Matanzas (9):
- Kevin Álvarez (Houston Astros)
- Luis Morejón (Colorado Rockies)
- Yoslaniel Hernández (Pittsburgh Pirates)
- Anthony Santa Cruz de Oviedo (Los Angeles Angels)
- Naykel Cruz (Baltimore Orioles)
- Briam Reyes (St. Louis Cardinals)
- Héctor Cabrera (St. Louis Cardinals)
- Yordy Madariaga (Philadelphia Phillies)
- Osiel Castillo (Chicago White Sox)
Havana (6):
- Diego Torres (Atlanta Braves)
- Meykel Baro (Baltimore Orioles)
- Smoked Rubio (Tampa Bay Rays)
- Eduardo Guillén (Philadelphia Phillies)
- Christian Duarte (Toronto Blue Jays)
- Rey Cruz (Philadelphia Phillies)
Holiness (3):
- Alejandro Cruz ( Chicago White Sox)
- Rodriguez.
- Miguel Neira (Texas Rangers)
Guantanamo (3):
- Alexander Valiente (Toronto Blue Jays)
- Yordan Rodríguez (Athletics)
- Roilán Portuondo (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Cienfuegos (2):
- Adriano Marrero (Miami Marlins)
- Yunior Villavicencio (Baltimore Orioles)
Villa Clara (2):
- Alex Rodríguez (Texas Rangers)
- Lordanys Menéndez (Los Angeles Angels)
Las Tunas (2):
- Cristian Espinosa (Philadelphia Phillies)
- Ricardo Fernández (St. Louis Cardinals)
Santiago de Cuba (2):
- Frames Bethlehem Pileta (Cleveland Guardians)*
- Luis Fonseca (Toronto Blue Jays)
Pinar del Río (1):
- Marcos Argudín (Texas Rangers)
The island (1):
- Ronald Terrero (Baltimore Orioles)
Mayabeque (1):
- Yulian Quintana (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Blind of Ávila (1):
- Yobal Rodríguez (Chicago White Sox)
Granma (1):
- Yeison Acosta (Baltimore Orioles)
It is worth mentioning that this list appears the controversy Marcos Belén Piletafamily of the iconic Santiaguero cargabates who was news some days ago for leaving the contract with Cleveland Guardians to return to play on the island with the team of his hometown.
For more MLB information click here
