Cleveland Sports Forum

Ronniel Demorizi agrees to terms with TORONTO

Ronniel Demorizi is 16 years old from San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic. He’s 6’0, 170lb, Lg frame, well proportioned athletic body. His body type resembles Yuneski Betancourt.

During the 2010-2011 DPL season Ronniel Demorizi was ranked among the best participating SS in the league. He was selected to the Under Armour All-America Game, DPL Elite Travel Team last march as well as the DPL All-Star Game in 2011.

Demorizi is a switch hitter with bat speed from both sides, line drive gap hitter with occasional power; he has a sound approach and balance at the plate. He works on being inside the ball and has shown improvements in pitch selection. He's a natural, effortless fielder with instincts. He shows good foot work, fluidness, rhythm and solid range. He consistently makes the routine plays and makes the tough plays appear routine. Like many Latin American player at 16 yrs old; he's still in the polishing stages, but his athletic ability, actions and feel for the position will carry him to next level.

His trainer Basilio Viscaino and Demorizi recently agreed to terms with the Toronto Bluejays for $105,000.

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Astros strike a deal with Tomas Lopez

TOMAS LOPEZ RHP 6'3 190lb

Tomas Lopez was born and raised in Barahona on the southern part of the Dominican Republic. Eight months ago he found his way to the city of Bonao under the tutelage of notable pitching instructor Fausto “Chiki” Mejia. Chiki is known on the island for his craft to develop pitching, most notably working with MLB players Joel Peralta, Juan Cruz, Carlos Marmol, Wily Peralta among others professionals.

Lopez recently surfaced showing good stuff and quality outings in the DPL (Boca-Chica circuit). As his pitching abilities and consistency became evident, various teams proceeded to engage in his evaluation. Lopez throws from a High ¾ arm slot with fastball velocity at 90-91(92), he shows flashes of a solid Curveball with tight rotation and his changeup is deceptive with movement down in the zone. The Astros Director of Latin America Felix Francisco recently evaluated Lopez and was impressed enough to offer him the opportunity to become an Astros. Lopez and the Astros agreed to terms for $70,000.

Congratulations to Tomas Lopez, Fausto Mejia and the Houston Astros.

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Oliver Asencio agrees with Seattle Mariners

OLIVER ASENCIO LHP 6'4 200lb

Oliver Asencio started his quest to professional baseball as an outfielder but like many Dominican native players, his arm strength, size and projection made it an easy transition as he found his way onto the mound. His development as a hitter was showing slow progression; a year ago his trainer Basilio Viscaino and Asencio decided to start a new strategy to get a team to buy into his abilities. After 4 months of intense training, from long toss, bullpens, physical conditioning and DPL games the results of hard work quickly showed positive signs, Asencio immediately found a love for pitching. After his conversion he threw enough Inn's to be selected to the 2011 DPL All-Star game last May where he dominated hitters with his 88-92 deceptive Fastball, as well as showing a quality Curveball and Change-up. He projects to be a serviceable power arm lefty out of the pen. If he can develop constancy with his breaking pitches Asencio should move quickly through the Mariners system.

Congratulations to Oliver Asencio, Basilio Vizcaino and the Seattle Mariners.

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Sandy Garces agrees with KC Royals

SANDY GARCES LHP

A few months removed from the outfield, Sandy Garces has agreed to terms with the KC Royals as a LHP. Garces took part in the Dominican Prospect League last season but struggled to impress scouts offensively during the year. During the DPL Elite Travel Team tour during Spring Training Garces made contact and showcased his raw abilities. As an Outfielder he posses average to plus speed, solid defense and plus arm strength. Although Sandy is a contact hitter, his swing gets long through the zone and doesn’t project to be more than a slash and dash hitter. He worked hard to improve his hitting skills but was never able to get over the hump.

His trainer Leo Perez decided to place him on the mound due to his plus arm strength and feel for Curveball. Leo a former pitcher and CUBS farm hand cleaned his mechanics and thought him the fundamental approach of pitching. Sandy is now 17 years old, 6’1, 175lb, he sits 87-91mph with a feel for Curveball and Change-up. In a few DPL appearances Garces looked like he had been on the mound since little league baseball. The KC Royals evaluated him numerous times during the DPL season and recently had him workout at their academy, eventually deciding to offer him a contract. Garces will most likely start his professional career in the Dominican Summer League in 2012.

Congratulations to Sandy Garces, Leo Perez and the KC Royals.

Despaigne’s Bat, Perhaps “Baseball Photo of the Year”

by Peter C. Bjarkman,

Alfredo Despaigne’s Cuban League record-setting home run number 34 last night in Latin American Stadium was special in more ways than one. The fastball thrown to him by Industriales southpaw Ian Rendon sawed the bat off in Despaigne’s hands and yet he still muscled the ball more than 400 feet into the left field bleachers for the historic blast breaking the record previously held by Abreu and Cespedes. The below photos capture Despaigne’s swing (and what is left of his bat) seconds after making contact with Rendon’s ill-fated pitch.
One hand, one quarter of a bat, 400-plus feet!
Another view of the broken-bat classic blast.

I have seen one or two big league homers hit with broken bats, although none where the batter was left clutching the bat handle only. And none where the ball traveled quite so far. And certainly none where the blast was quite so historically signficant. Despaigne is indeed a very special slugger. I have witnessed a ton of international baseball games and a ton of big league professional games but rarely have I seen a batter with quicker hands or more raw power than Granma’s Alfredo Despaigne.

Home Runs # 34 & 35

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pEbBcDypsE

Alfredo Despaigne Breaks Cuban Home Run Record

Baseball America

Posted Apr. 3, 2012 8:22 pm by Ben Badler

Filed under: International

Yoenis Cespedes arrived in the United States tied for the single-season home run record in Cuba's Serie Nacional. Now that record belongs to Alfredo Despaigne.

Cespedes' former teammate with Granma, Despaigne hit his 34th home run of the season tonight in the second inning, launching a 1-1 pitch over the fence in left field. After taking a first-pitch fastball for a strike and laying off another fastball just off the plate to even the count, Despaigne got one grooved down the middle and broke his bat on the swing, but he hit the ball with so much force that there was little doubt it was going to leave the park the moment it left his bat. Despaigne knew it immediately, though it was a bit of an odd sight from what we're used to seeing since there didn't appear to be a fan anywhere in the outfield seats to retrieve the ball.

Despaigne wasn't finished. In the top of the eighth, Industriales lefthander Roberto Santiesteban flicked curveball after curveball at the righthanded-hitting Despaigne, who fell behind in the count before Santiesteban left a 1-2 pitch up and on the outer half. Despaigne took advantage of the mistake, going the other way to deposit the pitch over the right field fence for home run No. 35.

The previous single-season home run record was set last season by Cespedes and Cienfuegos first baseman Jose Abreu. A two-time MVP in Cuba, Despaigne, a 25-year-old left fielder, now has reclaimed the record he first broke in 2008-09, when he hit 32 home runs. Despaigne, who entered the game hitting .340/.495/.730 in 392 plate appearances, ranks second in Cuba in both OBP and slugging, with Abreu leading both categories. Granma still has 11 games left on its 96-game schedule (the league had previously played a 90-game season), so Despaigne still has time to add to his record-breaking total.
Alfredo Despaigne impone nuevo récord de jonrones en una Serie Nacional. Foto: Ismael Francisco/Cubadebate

Alfredo Despaigne impone nuevo récord de jonrones en una Serie Nacional. Foto: Ismael Francisco/Cubadebate

Alfredo Despaigne impone nuevo récord de jonrones en una Serie Nacional. Foto: Ismael Francisco/Cubadebate

Alfredo Despaigne impone nuevo récord de jonrones en una Serie Nacional. Foto: Ismael Francisco/Cubadebate

Alfredo Despaigne impone nuevo récord de jonrones en una Serie Nacional. Foto: Ismael Francisco/Cubadebate

Alfredo Despaigne impone nuevo récord de jonrones en una Serie Nacional. Foto: Ismael Francisco/Cubadebate

Alfredo Despaigne impone nuevo récord de jonrones en una Serie Nacional. Foto: Ismael Francisco/Cubadebate

Rick Sweet will pick up where he left off this past winter as he was hired to manage the Caracas Leones for this upcoming winterball season. In an interview with Beisbol Venezuela, Sweet was asked:

Do you see Jesus Aguilar as the cleanup hitter for the Lions next year?

I hope not to have to do that because it is a great responsibility and pressure on a player who is still young. I'd rather give that role to a veteran either a Venezuelan or an imported player.

I would like to place Jesus a little further down in the lineup and use his strength in that way but we must recognize that he had a strong performance in the middle of the lineup last year. He was the fourth or fifth batter for me and in the previous tournament he did a great job.

SCOUTS CORNER: 2012 Class GUSTAVO CABRERA-OF

OF GUSTAVO CABRERA- Perfect Game Report

Trainer: Christian “Niche” Batista

6-1/190, R/R, 1/23/96, LaRomana, DR

PG Grade: 10

Cabrera is the player that all the scouts want to see and is going to perhaps be the prospect who will lose the most by the new international signing rules. In the previous unlimited free market system he was likely a $4-to-$5 million dollar player. With the $2.9 million limit per team, he’ll be looking at something more in the neighborhood of $1.5 million.

Cabrera has a tightly wound athletic body reminiscent of Justin Upton. In fact, Cabrera’s tools at the same age are very reminiscent of Upton’s. He ran the 60 in 6.34 seconds in Arizona and has an explosive first step that enables him to steal bases at will (he had 5 steals in one game in Florida) and the aggressiveness and instincts to use his speed. He throws 90-plus mph from the outfield with a very quick release and his speed will give him well above average range at any outfield position.

Cabrera’s hitting mechanics from the right side are still on the raw side, with an early drift to his front side in games and some back side collapse on his swing, but he has electric bat speed and as much home run power as any player on the DPL roster. Any scout who saw his batting practice in Dunedin will remember the line drive he hit off the Blue Jays minor league building in left centerfield.

Interestingly, scouts following Cabrera may have been left a bit frustrated by his game at-bats, as he walked in a majority of his plate appearances in both Florida and Arizona. That’s obviously not a negative, but he walked in 5 of the 7 plate appearances that PG scouts saw him in Arizona, plus drawing 2 walks and a HPB in the DPL/Red Sox game in Florida.

One PG scout remarked after seeing Cabrera for four days, “I haven’t been to Japan (or anywhere else) but I suspect that this is the best 16-year old baseball player on the planet.”

Maybe Shapiro and Dolan can afford to put a bid in.

Daily Cuban League Action Update (for April 12, 2012)

by Peter C. Bjarkman

Note: Ray Otero (Daily Cuban League Director) is traveling in Cuba during the final week of the National Series season and first week of the Cuban post-season playoffs. Because of the lack of regular internet connectivity in Cuba, Ray will not be able to update our main website daily during that period. Therefore over the next two weeks I am posting daily website updates for Cuban League action on this blog page for the benefit of all our devoted Cuban League followers.
Yordan Manduley has broken the Holguin club record for single-season base hits.

The surprise game of Wednesday’s league action had to be Metros’ 15-3 knockout victory over Matanzas at Victoria de Girón Stadium. The one-sided win, sparked by a pair of long homers from Jorge Luis Barcelán extended the Warriors’ win streak to four straight games over Victor Mesa’s Occidental League leaders. Metros also recently swept a three-game set with the Crododiles in Havana’s Changa Mederos ballpark. Granma registered an even more crucial KO win at Holguín which pushed the Stallions into sole possession of fourth place in the tight Oriente League playoff hunt. In other significant action Holguín infielder Yordan Manduley lifted his league-leading base hits total to 123, surpassing by one the club record of 122 set back in National Series XLI (2002) by Waldo Dennis.

There were no changes in the individual home run and RBI shootout being waged between Alfredo Despaigne and José Dariel Abreu, as the former was held hitless in his team’s rout of Holguín while Abreu sat out the Cienfuegos match with Isla.

Standings with one week left in the season:

Daily Cuban League Action Update (for April 13, 2012)

Peter C. Bjarkman
Player of the Day: Robelio Carrillo fires clutch two-hitter to tighten Villa Clara lock on first place in the Oriente.

It is hard to believe that Granma would crush Holguín 12-0 and then 14-0 in two consecutive outings and yet league-leading slugging leader Alfredo Despaigne would be held without a single hit or RBI during the two one-sided knockout games. But such are the vagaries of baseball. Despite yesterday’s romp Granma fell back into a fourth-place tie with Santiago when the Avispas swept a doubleheader in Las Tunas (the opener a completion of Wednesday’s suspended contest). Elsewhere in Thursday’s league action southpaw Robelio Carrillo (now 6-4 on the season) hurled a brilliant two-hitter (7 Ks and zero walks) to lift Villa Clara to a 1.5 game advantage over Ciego de Avila in the Oriente League first-place race. Andy Zamora (four hits) and Ariel Borrero (3 safeties) paced the offense for the Orangemen. Also Pinar del Río posted a three spot on home turf in the bottom of the first frame and then made that slim advantage stand up through nine innings to gain a hard-earned 3-2 victory over Ciego de Avila. The victory kept Pinar alive in the tussle with Sancti Spíritus (a loser for the second straight day to basement-dwelling Mayabeque) for a final Occidental League playoff ticket. The heart-stopping Vegueros win also further damaged the chances for Roger Machado’s Ciego club to overtake Villa Clara in the eastern division title hunt.

Cuban League Action Update (for April 14, 2012)


Peter C. Bjarkman
Player of the Day: Joan Carlos Pedroso with two long blasts on Friday night moved into 9th slot the Cuban League career home run list.


Friday’s skimpy three-game slate featured a trio of contests that all held considerable importance for the still-unsettled playoff pictures in both leagues. With league batting leader José Dariel Abreu sitting out the entire series, Cienfuegos dropped the deciding series game at Isla and in the process blew a golden opportunity to gain ground on both Matanzas and idle Industriales in the Occidental League pennant chase. Isla closer Danni Aguilera worked the final three frames of the game in Cristobal Labra Stadium and notched his league-leading save number 25. In a second Occidental showdown, Sancti Spíritus recaptured some lost momentum by taking their rubber match with Mayabeque at Nelson Fernández Stadium in San José de las Lajas. With the much-needed victory the Gallos moved three full games ahead of defending National Series champion Pinar del Río and now stand in a solid position to grab the fourth and final Occidental playoff spot.

In an equally crucial night game between Santiago and Las Tunas, the Leñadores outslugged the visiting Wasps 13-7 to maintain a sold grip on third place and drop Santiago a half game off the pace in the five-team Oriente playoff battle. While most of the slugging news this winter has been made by Abreu and Despaigne, Las Tunas veteran Joan Carlos Pedroso stepped back into the limelight with his 15th and 16th of the season to impel the home club to victory. The pair of homers raised Pedroso’s career total to 286, moving him into a three-way tie with “Cheito” Rodríguez and Oscar Machado on the all-time career list. Pedroso (now in his fifteenth season) is the current long-ball leader among active players and has also smacked the most homers with wooden bats in National Series history.

Joan Carlos Pedroso Hits Top 10 in Career Home Runs

Joan Carlos Pedroso, Las Tunas, reaches #9 on Cuban career home run chart.
Cuba’s Top Ten Career Home Run List

With two homers in last night’s game (April 13, 2012) at Las Tunas, giant first baseman Joan Carlos Pedroso has now moved into the career Top Ten list for lifetime Cuban League home runs.

The revised all-time leaders list as now recorded in the Cuban League record books stands as follows:

1- Orestes Kindelán (487) Santiago de Cuba (21 seasons)

2- Lázaro Junco (405) Matanzas (18 seasons)

3- Omar Linares (404) Pinar del Río (20 seasons)

4- Antonio Muñoz (370) Azucareros (24 seasons)

4- Romelio Martínez (370) Habana (15 seasons)

6- Luis Giraldo Casanova (312) Pinar del Río (17 seasons)

7- Gabriel Pierre (306) Santiago de Cuba (18 seasons)

8- Julio Germán Fernández (302) Matanzas (19 seasons)

9- Joan Carlos Pedroso (286) Las Tunas (15 seasons)

9- Pedro José Rodríguez (286) Cienfuegos (15 seasons)

9- Oscar Macias (286) Habana (18 seasons)

If we were to rank these eleven sluggers (there is a three-way tie for ninth place) according to their home run productivity (how many at-bats needed for every home run hit) the listing would be altered somewhat. Such a frequency list for the same players would be topped by Romelio Martínez, while Joan Carlos Pedroso would climb to number six overall and Cheito Rodríguez would also move up significantly. The ratio number is arrived at by simply dividing a player’s career ABs by his lifetime home run total.

Revised List Based on HR Frequency

1- Romelio Martínez (370 HRs and 12.84 frequency ratio)

2- Orestes Kindelán (487 HRs and 13.32 frequency ratio)

3- Lázaro Junco (405 HRs and 14.27 frequency ratio)

4- Pedro José Rodríguez (286 HRs with 14.58 frequency ratio)

5- Omar Linares (404 HRs and 14.76 frequency ratio)

6- Joan Carlos Pedroso (286 HRs and 14.98 frequency ratio)

7- Luis Giraldo Casanova (312 HRs and 16.95 Frequency ratio)

8- Gabriel Pierre (306 HRs and 17.44 frequency ratio)

9- Antonio Muñoz (370 HRs and 18.04 frequency ratio)

10- Julio Germán Fernández (302 HR with 20.23 frequency ratio)

11- Oscar Macias (286 HRs with 22.07 frequency ratio)

A further interesting comparison might be made with several other current Cuban sluggers. Yulieski Gourriel ranks second on the current active list with 232 round trippers but boasts only a 17.38 frequency ratio. New single-season record holder Alfredo Despaigne, now with 199 career homers, boasts a more impressive ratio with one homer for every 13.44 ABs, while José Dariel Abreu currently carries a 14.80 frequency mark (with 160 homers). Gourriel is now completing his tenth league season while Abreu is playing in his ninth and Despaigne his eighth. It might also be noted here that Abreu and Despaigne have captured the two most recent league batting titles and Despaigne entered the current campaign with the fourth highest lifetime batting average (.349) in league annals – trailing only Linares, Michel Enríquez and Osmani Urrutia. Gourriel ranks seventh on that Top Ten Batting Average list and Abreu is tied for ninth slot; Abreu will obviously move up this winter with a second straight batting title now seemingly assured. While Gourriel has never won a league batting crown, he remains the only player in National Series history to top the league in base hits (2005), runs scored (2005, 2010), doubles (2007), triples (2006), home runs (2006), and runs batted in (2010)

Cuban League career home run totals include games played in the National Series, Selective Series, and also two other shorter tournaments (Revolutionary Cups and Super Leagues). Also included in a player’s stats are both regular season and post-season homers – a departure from the Major League practice. Gabriel Pierre is the only member of the Cuban League Top Ten list never to claim a single-season National Series long-ball title. Pedroso paced the circuit in homers only once, in 2003 (National Series #42) when he slugged 28 round-trippers, but also led the pack during Super League #4 (2005).

Now completing his fifteenth league season, Pedroso remains unchallenged as the home leader among active Cuban Leaguers (trailed most closely by Yulieski Gourriel and Despaigne). He was also the first on the island to cross the threshold of 200 using only wooden bats, having hit only six long balls in his two limited debut seasons before wood war clubs were reintroduced in time for the spring 1999 post-season playoffs. Pedroso’s home run total for National Series regular season games now stands at 263, with one additional blast coming in post-season play and 22 during his four shorter Super League campaigns (2002-2005).

Cuban League Action Update (for April 15, 2012)

Peter C. Bjarkman
Player of the Day: Roberto Carlos Ramirez collected four hits to help Metros knock Matanzas out of sole possession of the Occidental top spot.


Saturday action saw Villa Clara tightening its grip on first place in the Oriente and Matanzas losing its sole ownership of the top spot in the Occidente. Also in a crucial night game affecting the Oriente pennant chase, loser Granma dropped into a fourth-place tie with Santiago while victorious Holguín climbed back out of the division basement. One final match of much less significance found the Guantánamo Indios winning on home turf and in the process knocking Camagüey into the league cellar. The Guantánamo win not only scuttled Camagüey but also prevented the victors from themselves slidding to the bottom of the pack among into the Oriente League also-rans.

Villa Clara stretched its slim first-place margin to two full lengths over runner-up Ciego de Avila on the strength of a late-game rally highlighted by Aledmis Diaz’s game-winning two run homer in the bottom of the eighth frame. Scoring all five runs in the final three innings, the Orangemen were able to wipe out a strong six-inning effort by Artemisa starter Jonder Martinez. Holguín dumped visiting Granma behind 6.2 innings of strong relief hurling by Pablo Millan Fernández. In a losing effort for the Stallions, clean-up hitter Yordanis Samón collected hit number 123, moving him into a tie with Holguín’s Yordan Manduley.

In the ongoing see-saw battle for the Occidental division leadership between Matanzas and Industriales, the Blue Lions received a large boost from Metros – their friendly Havana rivals – when Luis Suarez’s club knocked off the Crocodiles of Victor Mesa largely on the strength of impressive slugging by former Blues regulars Stayler Hernández and Roberto Carlos Ramírez. Staler knocked home three runs on the strength of a pair of triples; shortstop Ramírez – currently the league’s number seven hitter at .344 – chipped in with four safeties (two of them doubles) to raise his season’s total to 122 – only one behind Samón and Manduley.

Cuban League Action Update (for April 16, 2012)

Peter C. Bjarkman
Player of the Day: With home run number 33 Jose Dariel Abreu matches his previous record total set only last season.

Two historic home runs highlighted sparse Sunday afternoon action which also saw Industrtiales (6-0 loser to Pinar del Río) drop out of a first place tie in the west while both Las Tunas and Santiago picked up valuable ground in the tight eastern division playoff chase. Joan Carlos Pedroso provided the difference for Last Tunas with a sixth inning homer off Yander Guevara that also boosted him into sole possession of the ninth slot in Cuban League career homers with 287. In Cienfuegos José Dariel Abreu bashed round tripper number 33 of the season in a losing cause against Santiago. The two-run shot in the eighth matched Abreu’s former record total of 33 (last season) and now leaves him trailing new record holder Alfredo Despaigne by only two round trippers entering the final week of regular-season action.

At Capitán San Luis Stadium in Pinar del Río veteran hurler Yosvani Torres (now 9-12) stifled Industriales bats with a nifty complete-game three-hit whitewash; the Pinar starter faced only one batter over the minimum number of 27 thanks to a pair of rally-killing double plays. The loss prevented Industriales from grabbing sole position of first place from idle Matanzas. With their 10-4 romp over Cienfuegos Santiago moved back into fourth place out east and now nurses a slim half-game advantage over Granma. The big hits for the Wasps were solo homers by Rolando Meriño and Edilse Silva. Shortstop Maikel Castellanos also contributed heavily to the Santiago offense with three hits and a trio of RBIs.

In the head-to-head battle for second slot in the Oriente League Las Tunas gained the advantage on the strength of homers by both Pedroso and shortstop Alex Guerrero (a two-run shot in the second). Rookie hurler Carlos Juan Viera picking up the victory (his seventh) in relief of starter Ubisney Bermudez. The game-winning tally for the Leñadores came via an unearned run in the ninth frame.