CARACAS LEONES REGULAR SEASON COMPARISONS BETWEEN YANDY & JESUS; NICE CARRYOVERS TO SPRING TRAINING [ Just comparing winter ball and Classic performers to spring training performances ...... uncanny how well everyone is doing ]

Luis Robert Draws Big Crowd At First Showcase

March 30, 2017 By Ben Badler

A big crowd of scouts and front office officials attended the first open showcase today for 19-year-old Cuban outfielder Luis Robert in the Dominican Republic.

The Cardinals, Astros, Reds, Padres and Athletics all had high-ranking team officials in attendance. Those teams have already exceeded their 2016-17 international bonus pools. The White Sox, who are not over their 2016-17 pool yet, have also been linked as a possible landing spot for Robert and had special assistant Marco Paddy there. The Astros and White Sox both have separate private workouts scheduled with Robert next week.

Nearly all teams appeared to have someone there (and many of them had multiple club officials on hand), though the teams over their bonus pool and the White Sox are the ones that appear the most likely to sign Robert. He is still waiting for Major League Baseball to clear him to sign, with the 2016-17 signing period ending on June 15. The new hard cap bonus pools begin in the upcoming 2017-18 signing period that opens on July 2.

Luis Robert Shines During First Open Showcase

By Emmet McClain - Mar 30, 2017

Earlier today, prized international sensation Luis Robert took batting practice and ran through a couple drills for his first open showcase. Scouts from just about every team were in attendance to see the 6’3, 205-pound outfielder, including the White Sox. The White Sox sent someone in particular to oversee Robert’s first workout. That would be Marco Paddy. For those who do not know, Paddy is the White Sox director of Latin American Scouting. In other words, Rick Hahn and the rest of the front office are not messing around and just sending someone to watch because they are obligated. Quite the opposite in fact. Rick Hahn and the White Sox are dead set on bringing this kid to the South Side. They already have a private workout set up with Robert sometime next week, where they can see him do more of this.

Reds GM Dick Williams on Luis Robert

Doug Gray April 1, 2017 7 Comments

Dick Williams was here in Louisville for the Cincinnati Reds vs Reds Futures game and had a pregame interview with the media. I took that chance to ask him specifically about Cuban outfielder Luis Robert and his workout that he had yesterday, and tried to gauge the Reds interest.

Here’s his entire response:

The acquisition cost on those kinds of players gets pretty high. As you noted, this year we committed to going after some Cubans aggressively and we signed a couple, so we are in the penalty phase. So, if we signed him we’d be paying that as well. But, we’ve got to be in on every player. We’ve got to give it a look, we’ve got to see if we can make it work within our financial resources if we think it’s a player we think can make a positive impact.

It’s a little premature. I talked with one of our scouts that was there today and I’ve got an idea of what they saw and what they think. I think we’d at least take it to the next level. We want to stay in the mix on a guy like that. You never know what’s going to happen. I just hope the dollars don’t get too far out there.

I followed that up asking about the timeline for the organization to not necessarily sign Luis Robert, but just any premium player over the next few months given that they will face the penalties and be unable to add that kind of talent moving forward. If those ramifications would possibly make the organization perhaps look harder at maybe spending a little more than they otherwise would simply because they won’t be able to do that for a few years.

Yeah, I think that’s fair to say. We’ll try to be aggressive here down the stretch to try and get a player or two signed.

Now, obviously there’s a lot to the whole Luis Robert thing. He’s still not eligible to sign, and at least the general public doesn’t seem to know when that’s going to happen. Lately I’ve been hearing that it’s expected to be before the June 15th deadline, but until he’s actually cleared, that’s all just rumor and talk. Being able to make the money work is another thing. The Reds haven’t been shy about spending on a player in the international market when they seem to truly believe in a guy. Williams seemed to say things that would suggest that the team is quite interested in him.

Cuban OF Luis Robert moiran 2016-17 Ciego de Avila vs Industrialists

https://youtu.be/sNt3YQbUflI

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BASEBALL AMERICA VIDEO LUIS ROBERT

https://youtu.be/Ew54lxdJw9U

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Astros scouted Cuban outfielder Luis Robert with private workout next week

by Eric Huysman19 hours agoFollow @Eric_CTH

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Could the Houston Astros be out to sign Cuban outfielder Luis Robert?

Last year, the Houston Astros surprised many people around baseball by signing Yulieski Gurriel. Recently, Jeff Luhnow and company have invested into the international free agent market. When you look at the Astros top prospect lists, many of them have come from international markets. Despite spending big in Gurriel, are the Astros going after the next big name out of Cuba?

That player’s name consists of two first names in Luis Robert. According to Ben Badler, the Astros were one of many teams to attend 19-year-old Robert’s showcase in the Dominican Republic. He said that the Astros had “high-ranking team officials in attendance.”

With opening day on Monday, I doubt that Jeff Luhnow went to the Dominican to attend this showcase. Maybe Mike Elias and some other high-level scouts were probably there. With the rumors out there that Kyle Tucker is being asked for in a trade for Jose Quintana, it wouldn’t hurt to add depth.

If Tucker is included, Robert could replace him on the outfield depth chart. The Astros have already exceeded the 2016-17 international bonus pool, so why not go over with style? ‪Badler reported that the Stros have a private workout with Robert next week.

Robert is waiting for the MLB to clear him to be able to sign according to Badler. The Astros would then need to sign him before the current period ends on June 15th. Should the Stros not sign him by then, under the new CBA, it will hard with a hard cap on the international bonus pool.

White Sox, Astros and the other teams with a notable presence at today's showcase for Cuban OF Luis Robert.

Any team that signs him now can do so without restrictions, according to Badler. If he is not cleared before June 15th, Badler states that Stros will be out of the picture. However, Houston would have to pay double for whatever bonus Robert gets for being over the threshold. Robert could be worth paying that.

Robert was supposed to replace Gurriel as the face of Cuban baseball. However, with the new CBA, Robert decided to defect now before the rule took effect. Unlike Gurriel, Robert is still young and could be better than Yoenis Cespedes. He is described as having raw power and plus speed, but he hopes to develop his skills in America.

Last year in Cuba, Robert had a slash line of .393/ .520/ .674/ 1.194 with 12 homers and 11 stolen bases in 54 games. He plays centerfield, but could eventually move to the corners. Everyone will be going for this guy, with the rules about to change. Let’s see how the private workout goes.

Luis Robert: Best in the World? (Fantasy Baseball)

by Bobby Sylvester

You’ve probably read the glowing scouting reports about Luis Robert (pronounced Row-Bear), the big free agent name coming out of Cuba this summer and are wondering if they are legitimate. If you didn’t read them, these quotes from two different MLB scouting directors should catch your eye:

“(The 19 year old) is a five-tool guy that can be in the big leagues soon. He is second to only Shohei Otani among all the international talents in baseball.”

There are about 10 potential five-tool players in the minor leagues at any given point, and usually, 7 or 8 of them are only considered that from one or two hyperbolic sources. If Robert is, in fact, a five-tool talent, that would make him a top 20 prospect in baseball. Now, if the additional claim, that he will be ready for the big leagues soon, is true, then well, he just might be the top overall prospect in the game. It is rare for a 19 or 20-year-old to make his major league debut and it is even more rare for them to be major league ready. Otani, by the way, may be the best pitcher in the world and is the No. 1 prospect in our Worldwide Top 400 Prospects Rankings. So saying he is No. 2 behind a talent like that, doesn’t take anything away from Robert. Now let’s look at the quote by a second real MLB scouting director. Hold onto your pants:

“He is the best player on the planet, and that’s no exaggeration.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second. Is this real!? Mike Trout is on his way to being one of the best players in MLB history and still in the prime of his career. Now, someone (at the top of his profession, mind you) is saying some 19-year-old is even better than Mike Trout right now. There are many things this could be:

1)A smokescreen to make some other MLB team overspend for his services
2)A Sidd Finch game with the media
3)An overzealous scout who went too far in his excitement
4)He wasn’t including the MLB when he mentioned the whole world
5)He is the real deal.

For what it is worth, Luis Robert is a 19-year-old outfielder who was long considered the best Cuban prospect once Yoan Moncada and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. were promoted to their Big Leagues. He seemed to be a disappointment at first, who might end up similar to Stephen Piscotty. When that is disappointing, by the way, you must be oozing with talent! Then last season, he realized his potential and ended up being far and away the best hitter in Cuba with a .401/.526/.687 stat line. In fact, if you spread his performance out over 162 games, he was an easy 30/30 fantasy asset….As a 19-year-old! That stat line is far better than Yasiel Puig at the same age or Yoenis Cespedes as a 24-year-old the year before he left the island to become an immediate all-star in the bigs. With that being said, Cuba’s talent-well is dried up after seeing all of their top players leave for America or Japan. Still, a stat-line like that in any league has to leave you wondering just how good the kid can be and already is.

Bottom Line

My not-so-bold prediction is that he is nowhere close to the best player in the world. More likely, I may have been too conservative in ranking him just outside my Top 50 Worldwide prospects and he is closer to a top-15 asset in the mold of a Bradley Zimmer, but with a more reliable hit-tool. If that assessment is on target, he could one day put together a season with 35 homers, 25 stolen bases and a .290 average, making him an eventual first or second-round fantasy pick. As with any other 19-year-olds, however, there are many ifs:

If he can stay healthy
If he actually is as talented as he seems
If he can progress as we hope
If he has the makeup to withstand the grind of a full season
Whether or not the answer to all of those ends up being yes, the investment seems well worth the risk in deep dynasty leagues.

56 National Baseball Series 2016-2017

Earlier I posted Luis Robert's Regulars Season Stats - See Playoff & Championship Stats Below

MLB: YANDY DÍAZ SERÁ EL CUBANO 200 EN LAS MAYORES
With the announcement of promotion of Cuban Yandy Diaz to the 40-man roster of the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball, the player of Villa Clara will make his debut this Monday at 7:05 pm against the Rangers of Texas in Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, will become the 200th Cuban player to make his Major League debut.

The first, not only from Cuba, but from Latin America, was Esteban Bellán, who on May 9, 1871 inaugurated the entrance of foreign players, with the Troy Haymakers of the former National Association.

From then to present it rained a lot. At the beginning of the last century, we saw the Cubans flood the Majors practically the only foreign country that dominated the same. But from 1962 there was also a great slump of Cubans to Major League baseball, which again, at the beginning of a new century, has seen a total of 58 Cubans debut in the Majors, and the figure should grow in the 2017 season that starts this Sunday.

In one way or another the players made their way. In the case of Diaz, the combination of three good seasons inthe minors and a great spring training in 2017, plus the injury to Cleveland's regular second base star Jason Kipnis, has opened a unique opportunity for the Cuban, who knows he must make the most of his opportunity without putting much pressure on himself to get good results.

Diaz reacted to the news very excited: "I can not describe it; I'm too happy, "he said, adding," This is the first time I'm going to play in the majors. I think of all the sacrifices I made during the last four years to get here. I do not know what to say. I just thank God for being here. "

The young man, a native of Sagüa la Grande in the Province of Villa Clara, is 25, 6 feet 2 inches tall and 185 pounds, from 2014 to 2016 between lA, AA and AAA compiled a slash line of .307 / .403 /.410 with 18 homers, 151 RBIs and 22 stolen bases.

Yandy Díaz, cubano 200 en Grandes Ligas

Basically, what did Francona tell you?

"That they were happy with my batting and hoped that I would keep hitting in the majors, but that I had to put a lot of effort into my defense. I am aware that I made my way with a clean stick. "

How did you become the batter you are now?

"At the beginning of my career I was very interested in defense, but then I changed my focus and when I arrived in this country, I was completely an offensive player. I trained in the cages, wasted no time, swings after swings, learning to direct the ball with every last drop of energy. Now I reap the fruit of all those days of effort. "

Did you worry about starting the season again in the Minors?

"A bit. But I had mentally prepared for everything. If they did not ask me to be with the club, well, what would I do. I would return to the farm and continue fighting. I was not going to lower my head for one more obstacle. "

Do you know that you are going to be the 200th Cuban baseball player to wear a Major league uniform?

"I do so with tremendous pride. I hope I do not disappoint anyone. At a time like this I remember good friends and coaches who have been holding my hands since I was a child. I would like to embrace you all and tell you that I thank you from the bottom of my heart. "

The first Cuban-and in fact, the first Latin player-was Havana's Esteban Bellán, back in 1871, with the Troy Haymakers of the late National Association.

Carlos Pedro, known as Chick Pedroes, followed in 1902, although he only had six at-bats without hits with the Chicago Cubs.

And in 1911 came two for one, Armando Marsans and Rafael Almeida, with the Cincinnati Reds.

Up to 1958, 77 Cuban-born players had made their debut in Major Leagues, a figure that could be closer to a thousand, if Fidel Castro had not eliminated professionalism on the island and cut off the flow of players to the majors.

Taking into account that in 1958 only 15 Puerto Ricans debuted in the Majors, 12 Mexicans, 6 Venezuelans and 2 Dominicans.

Today the Dominican Republic proudly exhibits 669 Major League ball players, Puerto Rico 257, Venezuela 358 and Mexico 121.

Two Cubans Debut on MLB Opening Day

On Sunday the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 at the start of the Major League Baseball season. This game marked the season debut of Cuban short stop Aledmys Diaz, who batted second in the Cardinals' lineup and went 2-5 with a double and two stolen bases.

A few hours earlier, another Cuban debuted on opening day. Arizona outfielder Yasmany Tomás did not do well, as he finished 0-4 with three strikeouts, batting in the fifth spot in a game where the D-backsrallyed to beat the Giants.

Grandal takes it twice in the Dodgers' win

The most prominent Cuban on opening day of the 2017 Major League season was Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal. Grandal hit two home runs and drove in three runs in his team's win against the San Diego Padres.

In the same game, Yasiel Puig went 1-3 with two walks, which is hopefully a signal of greater patience.

With the Angels of Anaheim, Yunel Escobar began the campaign as always: working hard. He went 2-4 in a game that his team beat the Oakland Athletics.

Oakland first baseman Yonder Alonso went 1-3 with an rbi and a walk.

In Houston, the Astros faced the Seattle Mariners. Leonys Martin (0-4); Yulieski Gurriel (0-3) were unable to figure out the pitchers.

Meanwhile, it was noted in Texas that Yandy Diaz (1-4) became the 200th Cuban baseball player to make his major league debut hitting a double to right field and playing third base for the Cleveland Indians, a team that is a Blunderbuss.

Also for the Indians was the Cuban-American pitcher Dan Otero : he got two outs as a reliever in the seventh inning and did not allow a run .

For his part, the righty Raisel Iglesias threw a relief inning for the Reds, who fell to Philadelphia, and only allowed one walk.

Kendrys Morales, debuting with the Toronto Blue Jays as clean up batter, went 0-4, but had a run batted in and had a walk.

With the Colorado Rockies, superstar Nolan Arenado, hit 2-3 and scored two in his team's win against the Brewers.

In New York, the Mets game against the Atlanta Braves, Granma's Yoenis Céspedes was 0-4. Ciego de Avila's Adonis Garcia was 0-3.

And finally, in Miami, Andy Hechavarría from Santiago was 0-3..

Reds Keeping Tabs On Cuban Prospect Luis Robert

By Steve Adams | April 13, 2017 at 7:13pm CDT

The Reds are “keeping an eye on” top Cuban outfield prospect Luis Robert, reports Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Manager Dick Williams called Robert “a physical specimen” when speaking to Buchanan, adding that the Reds have scouted Robert several times in the past. The price tag on Robert, of course, will be a major consideration for the Reds, but Buchanan points out that Cincinnati has greater incentive than most clubs to break the bank on the 19-year-old. Cincinnati has already soared past its international bonus pool, meaning they’ll be prohibited from signing any player for more than $300K in either of the next two international signing periods. If Robert is declared a free agent before the current period ends on June 15, it’s logical for the Reds to make one last splash while they’re still allowed to do so. Williams, though, notes that they won’t pursue him at all costs. “I have no idea where the dollars are going to go on him,” says the GM. “It could be that it quickly gets outside of our comfort level.” The Padres, Cardinals, Astros, Braves, Athletics and Nationals are all over their allotted bonus pools as well.

Ken Rosenthal‏Verified account @Ken_Rosenthal 55 minutes ago
Source: MLB has cleared free-agent Cuban outfielder Luis Robert to sign with a club.