Welcome to the Dominican Prospect League

Padres sign Manuel Gonzalez

DPL/ April 25, 2012
Felix Feliz -Padres Latin America Scout

Former DPL All-Star Manuel Gonzalez signs with the San Diego Padres for $65,000. Manuel is 6’4” 210lb from San Cristobal Dominican Republic the same area the magnificent Padres complex is located. Padres Latin American scout Felix Feliz acquired another notable pitcher from the region “Ubaldo Jimenez” while working for the Colorado Rockies. Feliz has been running the Padres Dominican operation for several years and has signed other DPL prospects the likes of, Edwin Moreno-OF, Duanel Jones-3B, Roberto Ramirez-RHP and most recently Franmil Reyes-OF.
Manuel Gonzalez-RHP

Gonzalez was identified as he threw 88mph at the ripe young age of 14 years old. During the 2011 DPL All-Star Game he threw 1-Inn 1-H 2-SO 1-BB 1-R. Presently Gonzalez has a heavy FB ranging from 90-92 (93) combined with a solid curveball and Changeup.

Congratulations to Manuel Gonzalez, Felix Feliz and the San Diego Padres.

Las Tunas Only Team So Far Enjoying Home Cooking

Peter C. Bjarkman
Player of the Day: Ariel Borrero provided the spark as Villa Clara pulled even with Granma.


The only post-season hopeful so far able to take full advantage of their home playing field, Las Tunas jumped out to a convincing lead Thursday night in their quarterfinal series with Ciego de Avila. Benefitting from a three-run uprising in the sixth – keyed by Yosvani Alarcón’s 2-RBI single – the Leñadoes were able to survive a couple of late rallies and move out to a two-game cushion over the visiting Tigers. Darian Nuñez mopped up for starter Dael Mejias to earn the save for manager Juan Miguel Gordo. Joan Carlos Pedroso enjoyed a three-for-three night (including a first inning round-tripper) for the winners while Rusney Castillo also homered for the Tigers in a losing cause.

In yesterday’s late match Villa Clara was able to get back on track and deadlock their series with Granma by squeezing out a 7-4 triumph in César Sandino. Alfredo Despaigne’s three-run homer in the third provided the bulk of the Granma offense but was largely cancelled out by a two-hit, three-RBI performance (including a solo homer) from Ariel Borrero. Yosvani Pérez provided four innings of efficient middle relief for the Orangemen and Yolexis Ulacia picked up the series-knotting save. Villa Clara pitching managed to largely contain if not entirely silence Despaigne and Yordanis Samón in Santa Clara, but it may well be a far different story this weekend when the series moves on to tiny Martires de Barbados Stadium in Bayamo. Despaigne smacked no fewer than 17 homers on the home field during this season’s record-breaking performance.

Both series in the Occidental League remain deadlocked heading into Friday’s renewals in Cinco de Septiembre (early game) and José Antonio Huelga (nationally televised nightcap). Both Industriales and Matanzas will now have to win at least one of three road games in order to remain alive and push their quarterfinal hopes back onto friendly home turf. Matanzas came out on top in a pair of regular-season road matches against the Gallos while also Industriales managed to find success on one earlier occasion this year when visiting the Elephants. Prospects would therefore seem promising for both Western quarterfinal series stretching out at least until a sixth game.

Games of April 26 (Thursday)

Villa Clara 7, Granma 4

Las Tunas 5, Ciego de Avila 4

Games of April 27 (Friday)

Industriales at Cienfuegos (5pm EST)

Matanzas at Sancti Spíritus (8:30pm EST)

Games of April 28 (Saturday)

Matanzas at Sancti Spíritus (5pm EST)

Las Tunas at Ciego de Avila (5pm EST)

Industriales at Cienfuegos (8:30pm EST)

Villa Clara at Granma (8:30pm EST

Saturday will once more feature a full slate of games, with late afternoon matches (5 pm EST) scheduled at Sancti Spíritus and Ciego de Avila and the night contests (8:30) penciled in for Cienfuegos and Granma. All eight clubs will also be in action on Sunday afternoon, with the later games (5:30) being staged in José Huelga and Ramón Cepero stadiums.

Rainouts Hamper Cuban Saturday Playoff Schedule

Peter C. Bjarkman

Player of the Day: Andy Sarduy drove home two and scored the game-winner as Villa Clara moved ahead of Granma in the Oriental League.


After Saturday’s limited playoff schedule all four Cuban League series now boast a clear leader. Las Tunas (rained out of their first road match with Ciego de Avila) maintains a two-game edge over the winless Tigers while Villa Clara, Industriales and Sancti Spíritus are all now leading by precarious 2-1 margins. The two Occidental League squads earned their advantages on Friday with nail-biting victories that featured some clutch early-inning slugging by the Blue Lions and another strong starting pitching effort for the Gallos contingent.

Industriales held on to survive their first road game at Cienfuegos by pounding out 16 hits overall and plating eight runs in the first three frames on route to a 10-8 victory over the host Elephants. The two clubs employed nine different pitchers in a wild game that saw Alex Mayeta and Yasmani Tomás homer for the winners and José Dariel Abreu also go deep in a losing cause for the hosts. The Gallos squeaked out a tense extra-inning win over Matanzas that ended in dramatic fashion: a walk-off tenth-inning single by Yunier Mendoza plated Yulieski Gourriel with the victory margin. Gallos starter Noelvis Hernández coasted into the ninth frame with a 3-0 advantage before Matanzas rallied to knot the game and send it to extra innings. Although Cuba plays with the game-shortening IBAF extra-inning tiebreaker rule during the regular season, post-season games to not employ the controversial “Schiller Rule” scenario that places runners on first and second to start each extra frame.

Saturday’s planned four-game schedule was largely obliterated by weather with three games rained out in Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus and Ciego de Avila (all central region provinces). The lone contest played was staged on the far eastern end of the island in Bayamao (Granma) where the host Stallions fell in extra frames and thus dropped one game back of Villa Clara. The home club once again revealed its debilitating imbalance (strong offense and weak defense) with key slugging from Despaigne (3 RBI on the strength of his second homer of the series) but also crucial defensive lapses (three errors) that in the end sabotaged a crucial game. Only two of Villa Clara’s runs in the 5-4 victory were earned (both knocked home by second baseman Andy Sarduy). The game ended in the eleventh frame when Sarduy doubled for the Orangemen and eventually scored the game-winner as a result of consecutive errors by Despaigne and pitcher Alberto Soto.

Games of April 27 (Friday)

Industriales 10, Cienfuegos 8 (Industriales leads Series 2-1)

Sancti Spíritus 4, Matanzas 3 (10 innings) (Sancti Spíritus leads Series 2-1)

Games of April 28 (Saturday)

Villa Clara 5, Granma 4 (11 innings) (Villa Clara leads Series 2-1)

Industriales at Cienfuegos (Postponed)

Matanzas at Sancti Spíritus (Postponed)

Las Tunas at Ciego de Avila (Postponed)

Games of April 29 (Sunday)

Industriales at Cienfuegos (2 pm EST)

Villa Clara at Granma (2 pm EST)

Matanzas at Sancti Spíritus (5:30 pm EST)

Las Tunas at Ciego de Avila (5:30 pm EST)

It has also now been announced by the Federation that games original announced for Tuesday, May 1 (the two matches in the Occidental League) will not actually be played on the date, due to the special Mayday workers holiday celebrations.

Tight in the East Sector and Wide Open out in the West

Peter C. Bjarkman
Player of the Day: Ismel Jimenez becomes only the third pitcher to register as many as 19 wins in a National Series season.

Sunday’s full day of action saw both Industriales and Sancti Spíritus widen the gap to a 3-1 margin over their Occidental League quarterfinal opponents, while in the Oriente sector things tightened up considerably with Granma drawing even against Villa Clara and Ciego de Avila notching a first victory over Las Tunas. With four games on tap Monday, both the Blue Lions of Industriales and the Gallos of Sancti Spíritus are now poised to make quick work of their western sector challengers while Granma and Ciego need to repeated their home field successes in order to remain contenders out east.

Industriales mainstay Odrisamer Despaigne and Sancti Spíritus ace Ismel Jiménez each gained a second post-season victory Sunday in moving their respective teams within a single step of advancement to the semifinals. Lions outfielder Yasmani Tomás tipped the scales in his team’s favor with a second inning homer (his third of the series) and ace southpaw Norberto González was able to survive only three rocky inning against a robust Industriales offense that plated five runs in the first four frames. Jiménez coasted in José Antonio Huelga Stadium behind a Gallos offense that provided 13 hits and 11 runs against five ineffective Matanzas hurlers. Victory number 19 for the Gallos right-hander made him only the third hurler in league history to reach that many in a single season (post-season wins included). Only José Ibar has ever reached the 20-victory plateau. And while Victor Mesa’s Matanzas club was the most pleasant surprise of National Series #51 regular season play, the inconsistent Crocodiles are now poised to be the biggest flop of the current post-season.

Cuba’s Top National Series Winners

José Ibar (Habana Province) 1998 (20-2)

Braudilio Vinent (Serranos) 1973 (19-4) (No Post-Season Play)

Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 2012 (19-5)

In Bayamo, Granma finally overcame its sloppy fielding and poor base running to draw even at home with the Villa Clara Orangemen. Despite another three errors in the field and some sloppy base running that killed a possible game-opening rally in the fourth, the Stallions hung on this time around despite being outhit 10-7 on their home field. Home run king Alfredo Despaigne produced his third round-tripper of the series and an additional smash by Urmanis Guerra provided the final margin of victory.

The home field win for the Ciego de Avila Tigers at José Ramon Cepero Stadium was sparked by the return of ace hurler Vladimir García who produced a solid complete-game effort while allowing only five hits (including a two-run homer by Joan Carlos Pedroso). Tigers manager Roger Machado was put at a distinct disadvantage in his confrontation with Las Tunas simply because he was forced to use García on the season’s final day in a game needed for playoff qualification. That meant that Machado had to wait until the third game of the series to finally employ his most reliable starter – and thus to finally enter in the win column.

Games of April 29 (Sunday)

Industriales 6, Cienfuegos 2

Granma 6, Villa Clara 5

Sancti Spíritus 11, Matanzas 1 (KO 8 innings)

Ciego de Avila 5, Las Tunas 4 (5:30 pm EST)

Games of April 30 (Monday)

Matanzas at Sancti Spíritus (5pm EST)

Villa Clara at Granma (5pm EST)

Industriales at Cienfuegos (8:30pm EST)

Las Tunas at Ciego de Avila (8:30pm EST)

On Sunday the Cuban Baseball Federation announced that games original scheduled for Tuesday, May 1 (the two matches in the Occidental League) will not be played, due to the special May Day workers holiday celebrations.

Home run king Alfredo Despaigne produced his third round-tripper of the series

Despaigne's three homers added to his record breaking 36 during the regular season now gives him a total of 39 homers in less than 100 games. An unprecedented 40 could be in the offing.

So! What's New ?!?

Industriales Leones First to Reach the Semifinal Round

Peter C. Bjarkman
Player of the Day: Raiko Oliveras with four RBIs lifts Industriales into the semifinal playoff round.


Industriales made short work of Cienfuegos in their opening Occidental League quarterfinal series, taking three straight road matches at Cinco de Septiembre Stadium to put an early end to the Elephants’ post-season hopes. In Monday evening’s final series game the visiting Lions rallied from an early 3-1 deficit with a three-run uprising in the fifth and two more game-icing tallies in the sixth. Southpaw Ian Rendón hurled seven strong frames for the winners and shortstop Raiko Oliveras proved the offensive hero with four RBIs (coming on two sacrifice flies and a pair of run-producing singles). Yasmani Tomás – the hottest Industriales batsman throughout the entire series – provided the club’s only pair of extra-base hits (both doubles) while Juan Carlos Torriente, Carlos Tabares and Frank Camilo Morejón also chipped in with multi-hit games. Cienfuegos starter and loser Noelvis Entenza (the club’s only winner back in Game 2) lasted 5.2 innings and Pavel Quesada (triple) produced the only extra-base hit for the Elephants. Industriales will now sit idle until May 7 awaiting their opening semifinals series lid-lifter with the Sancti Spíritus-Matanzas series winner.

Villa Clara also took an important step forward on Monday with a road victory in Bayamo. The Orangemen gave starter Freddy Asiel Alvarez plenty of support with a 19-hit attack that produced runs in every inning but the first and eighth. Every Villa Clara position player produced at least one safety and Andy Zamora led the charge with a four-for-five evening and a pair of RBIs. Andy Sarduy produced the only homer for the visitors while Urmanis García and Luis Ferrales produced solo round-trippers for the home club. Losing starter Ciro Silvino Licea worked into the fifth before surrendering to three ineffective relievers who did little to stem the Villa Clara onslaught. The victory moves Villa Clara into a three-two series lead and assures that the Orangemen will now return to home soil for the final one or two games of the series.

Meanwhile Matanzas got back on track at least temporarily in Sancti Spíritus with a 5-0 whitewashing that cut the Gallos series margin back to a single game. Matanzas starter Jorge Antonio Martínez worked into the ninth frame, striking out eight and allowing only three harmless singles from the inept Sancti Spíritus offense. Relievers Yoanni Yera and Felix Fuentes each struck out the only batter faced during ninth-inning mop-up duty. Gallos starter Angel Peña failed to reach the third inning and was tagged with the loss. Shortstop José Miguel Fernández was the hitting star for the rebounding Crocodiles with a perfect four-for-four outing that included a homer and a pair of RBIs.

Games of April 30 (Monday)

Matanzas 5, Sancti Spíritus 0 (Sancti Spíritus leads series 3-2)

Villa Clara 11, Granma 4 (Villa Clara leads series 3-2)

Industriales 7, Cienfuegos 3 (Industriales wins series 4-1)

Las Tunas at Ciego de Avila (Postponed)

The fourth match on Monday was cancelled by rain in Ciego de Avila – the second washout of that final Oriente League series. Las Tunas will still hold a slim 2-1 advantage when action finally resumes and the postponements have clearly aided Ciego manager Roger Machado who had to hold out ace starter Vladimir García until Game 3. Since Machado often uses Garcia on short rest he may now be able to get two additional starts from his top hurler if the series does extend to six or seven games. Games originally scheduled for Tuesday, May 1 (the two matches in the Occidental League) have now been cancelled, due to island-wide May Day celebrations. The three remaining quarterfinal series will continue Wednesday evening.

NPB Top Prospects

February 12, 2012 By Christopher Pellegrini
Yamada (SS) is a top NPB prospect and should get a few regular season starts in 2012

1. Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh (Yokohama – INF)
2. Takahiro Fujioka (Chiba – LHP)*
3. Yuki Kuniyoshi (Yokohama – RHP)
4. Yuki Yanagita (Fukuoka – OF)
5. Masaru Nakamura (Hokkaido – RHP)
6. Junki Ito (Chunichi – RHP)
7. Kenshi Sugiya (Hokkaido – INF)
8. Yusuke Nomura (Hiroshima – RHP)*
9. Shunta Goto (Orix – OF)
10. Hayata Ito (Hanshin – OF)*
11. Hikaru Ito (Orix – C)
12. Shota Takeda (Fukuoka – RHP)*
13. Yudai Ono (Chunichi – LHP)
14. Tetsuto Yamada (Tokyo – INF)
15. Shuhei Takahashi (Chunichi – INF)*
16. Yuhei Nakamura (Tokyo – C)
17. Yoshinao Kamata (Tohoku – RHP)*
18. Ryosuke Miyaguni (Yomiuri – RHP)
19. Kenta Imamiya (Fukuoka – INF)
20. Masahiro Imei (Hokkaido – LHP)

* = rookie

Thanks for the list of those Japanese players. I'm burning their names into my memory.

Just scouting the Pacific Rim for our next Asian superstar

Wake me when he signs with the Indians.

Three Crucial Series on the Verge of Wrap-Up Games

by Peter C. Bjarkman

May 03, 2012
Player of the Day: With two triples, a homer, and six RBIs Ariel Sanchez lifted Matanzas into a deciding seventh game.


Western League-Quartefinals: Juego 6-Ssp 2, Mtz 8

Matanzas lived to play another day on Tuesday and Las Tunas took full command of their one-sided series with Ciego de Avila via a hard-fought victory that pushed the Leñadores into a commanding 3-1 matchup advantage. As a result, we now stand on the verge of ending all three remaining quarterfinal series during the full slate of Thursday evening games. Tied at three wins apiece the Gallos and Crocodiles square off in a dramatic seventh and final game in Victoria de Girón, while both the Villa Clara Orangemen and Las Tunas Woodsmen also hope to wrap things up over in the Oriental League. So far the Sancti Spíritus clash with Matanzas is the only quarterfinal series where the result has dramatically hung in the balance for the full duration of seven scheduled matches.

The Cinderella Matanzas squad looked like they were dead only two days ago when they trailed three games to one and needed a road victory just to get back home for a Game Six series extender. But suddenly the bats of Victor Mesa’s team have come alive and the Crocodiles are now in excellent position to survive a deciding showdown clash on their home field. One remaining hurdle, of course, is Gallos ace Ismel Jiménez, already winner of two games in the current series. Jiménez is not only manager Rupert Zamora’s final “ace in the hole” but also stands on the verge of history, needing only one more win to reach 20 on the campaign (17 during regular season play). Only José Ibar back in 1999 has crossed the plateau of 20 victories in a single National Series season.

Yesterday’s 14-hit attack for the Crocodiles during an 8-2 romp was spearheaded by left fielder Ariel Sánchez whose perfect four-for-four day included two triples, a homer, six RBIs, and 11 total bases. Guillermo Heredia (also a double and a triple), José Miguel Fernández and veteran Yoandy Garlobo also enjoyed multiple-hit games for Mesa’s suddenly explosive lineup. Gallos starter Noelvis Hernández never got out of the first inning and his quick departure forced Zamora to turn to number three starter Angel Peña and three additional hurlers for largely ineffective relief work. The Gallos’ hopes now all come down to the possibilities of yet another sterling effort from Jímenez who allowed the Crocodiles only 13 hits and 2 earned runs during 16 total innings in his previous Game 1 and Game 4 starts.

Eastern League-Quartefinals: Juego 4-Ltu 3, Cav 2

Las Tunas got around a solid complete game effort by Ciego’s Yander Guevara who shut down the visitors for eight of nine innings and allowed only three hits overall and three unearned runs during a single disastrous fourth frame. Las Tunas parlayed a single by Jorge Jhonson and two walks in that odd inning into the deciding three unearned tallies when a disastrous wild heave to first by third baseman Raul González (after a grounder by Yosvani Alarcón) cleared the bases. Solo homers by Isaac Martínez (in the fourth, off starter Yoelkis Cruz) and Rusney Castillo (in the sixth, also off Cruz) provided the only scoring for the Tigers. Las Tunas ace Cruz worked six frames to pick up his fifteenth win on the season against only six defeats.

Games of May 2 (Wednesday)

Matanzas 8, Sancti Spíritus 2

Las Tunas 3, Ciego de Avila 2

Games of May 3 (Thursday)

Las Tunas at Ciego de Avila (5 pm EST) (Las Tunas leads series 3-1)

Sancti Spíritus at Matanzas (8:30 pm EST) (Series tied at 3-3)

Granma at Villa Clara (8:30 pm EST) (Villa Clara leads series 3-2)

The one remaining series finds Villa Clara now needing a single victory on home turf in Augusto César Sandino Stadium. Orange manager Ramón Moré will most likely rely on top southpaw Robelio Carrillo to close out the series in Game Six with Granma’s Ciro Silvino Licea the likely opponent. With three long balls in the series Granma’s Alfredo Despaigne has upped his record-breaking season’s total to 39 (with a new mark of 36 during regular season action). But without better pitching and defense from his inconsistent teammates, Despaigne may well be facing his final game of the year tonight in Villa Clara.

Winter leagues help LaHair stay focused

By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com | 05/03/12 12:40 PM ET

CINCINNATI --
Bryan LaHair gives a lot of credit for his approach at the plate to spending the offseason playing in winter leagues.

LaHair played in the Dominican Republic before the 2011 season, when he hit 38 homers at Triple-A Iowa to be named Most Valuable Player in the Pacific Coast League. He didn't go to the Dominican until December, which is after the season had begun.

"Down there, they throw the ball so hard, hard sliders," LaHair said. "Your bat speed is probably 85 [mph], and their pitch speed is 95 [mph]. It's way off."

But the Cubs' first baseman did well, batting around .300, which helped his confidence. He didn't hit for power, so the Dominican team sent him home.

"I was about 48 at-bats in and didn't have a home run," LaHair said. "I started feeling myself fouling balls back and hitting hard ground balls and thought, 'It's coming.' A lot of times, in winter ball, they don't get it. If you don't come in and do it right away, you've got no chance. Who knows? In my next 40-50 at-bats, I might have hit five or six home runs.

This year in Venezuela, I went the whole month of November without a hit it seemed like, and they stuck with me."

LaHair followed his stellar season at Iowa last year with a trip to Venezuela, and he hit 15 home runs there. What the winter leagues did was re-enforce that he's not going to get any fastballs down the middle, so he had to make adjustments.

He also was motivated last year to do well.

"I just knew I had to go above and beyond," LaHair said. "I knew I had to stay locked in and have a good year. I felt it could've been my last year."

After all, LaHair had turned 29 in November 2011. He'd played nine seasons in the Minor Leagues. When would he get his chance?

"I felt I couldn't do any more, I couldn't work any harder," LaHair said. "That's a bad combination to have. You can't work any harder or work any more, and you're not getting a big league opportunity, then why am I playing and stressing my brain out every day over this game? Luckily, I have a good wife, good family, good support, and they kept pushing me."

It paid off, and he's now the everyday first baseman for the Cubs, leading the team in home runs and RBIs. Will he play winter ball this year?

"It's almost like I want to go for a month," LaHair said. "It gets me off the couch, keeps my weight down. Instead of five or six months [off], it's three months. That's a big thing."

The Cinderella Matanzas squad looked like they were dead only two days ago when they trailed three games to one and needed a road victory just to get back home for a Game Six series extender. But suddenly the bats of Victor Mesa’s team have come alive and the Crocodiles are now in excellent position to survive a deciding showdown clash on their home field. One remaining hurdle, of course, is Gallos ace Ismel Jiménez (The Gallos’ hopes now all come down to the possibilities of yet another sterling effort from Jímenez who allowed the Crocodiles only 13 hits and 2 earned runs during 16 total innings in his previous Game 1 and Game 4 starts.)

Matanzas has a 2-0 lead in their home half of the 6th. Gallos ace Ismel Jiménez looks sharp but trails 2-0. Make that 4-0 as 2 more runs cross the plate. The Gallos and Jiménez just took a big hit in that inning.

Sancti Spiritus narrows the lead back to 2 runs on a 2-run homer