By Yusseff Díaz Since the untimely death of Peter Bjarkman in 2018, English coverage of Cuban baseball and the Serie Nacional seemed to be fading into oblivion. Then Phil Selig entered the picture. The Canadian born Selig has made some noise in the world of Cuban baseball in […]
By Yusseff Díaz Its not often that a big leaguer can enter the bigs without a stint in the Minors. These three Cuban MLB players defied the odds and did just that. Alexei Ramirez, Yoenis Céspedes, and Jose Abreu will always be etched in Cuban baseball history not only for their […]
By Yusseff Díaz Despite the country’s history, these international players are willing to represent their homeland if given a chance. When the rumor circulating in Cuba that the Cuban Baseball Federation is was deliberating on whether to allow international players affiliated with MLB teams to return and represent […]
By Yusseff Díaz In the CPBL, Cubans have a relatively brief history. However, all of that is about to change as an influx of players are beginning to take over the sport. Like in Korea, Cubans have a brief history in the CPBL (Chinese Professional Baseball League) based on […]
By Yusseff Díaz When Serie Nacional legend René Arocha defected in 1991 he started a revolution. After René Arocha, Little by little Cuban players eventually started leaving the island in search of a better future in MLB. Arocha’s ex-team, the Serie Nacional’s Havana’s Industriales Blue Lions has placed the highest […]
By Yusseff Díaz A very credible source confirmed to Pelota Cubana last month that Alexander Guerrero reached out to the Cuban Federation about playing in Olympic qualifying tournament, that source was none other than the player himself. Cuba seemed to ignore his advances as they did with other […]
By Yusseff Díaz Although last season wasn’t his best in the Serie Nacional Yosimar Cousín is considered one of Cuba’s top pitching prospects. The righty from Camagüey, Cuba posted a 5.68 earned run average in 19 starts. Cousín who was on Cuba’s list of prospects turned over to […]
By Yusseff Díaz Ben Badler is considered by the masses as a baseball guru when it comes to evaluating prospects and his publication Baseball America is considered the bible on rating these prospects. A lot of publications and writers, including myself base their analysis on BA’s scouting reports. […]
By Yusseff Díaz Sandy Gastón was one of the most heralded prospects when he left Cuba in 2018 and signed with the Tampa Bay Rays for $2.8M in 2019. Gastón hurled a fastball that nearly hit triple digits at the age of 16. This caught the eye of […]
By Yusseff Díaz Drawing comparisons to Derek Jeter and Carlos Correa, Yiddi Cappe was one of the most exciting international prospects available before his signing with Miami. Here’s what you need to know about Cappe and how talented they young Cuban could be. The 17year-old from Artemisa, Cuba […]