Previewing the 2017 Caribbean Series
Five champions from the prominent Western winter leagues face off in Culiacán, Mexico
If the last baseball you watched was the final out of the 2016 World Series, man, have you have been missing out. Every winter, with Americans turning their attention to lesser sports (football, basketball, hockey, etc.), baseball teams around the world gather in warmer climates to play America’s favorite pastime.
As Spring Training (and this year, the World Baseball Classic) looms closer, these leagues begin to draw to a close. In the Western hemisphere, most leagues have already finished their playoffs, and a few of the league champions will be heading to Culiacán, Mexico, for the Serie del Caribe (Caribbean Series).
A quick primer on the Caribbean Series: It is a round-robin style tournament held with the top leagues in Latin America — Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.
With tradition reaching back to 1949, the participating countries take turns hosting (last year it took place in the Dominican Republic, next year it will be in Venezuela). While the team that represents each league is technically the “champion” of said league, each team is free to bring on “reinforcements” from around the league as it sees fit. This essentially makes each team an All-Star team (e.g. Mexico’s champion, the Águilas de Mexicali, have 26 players on their SdC roster, 11 of which weren’t on their roster during the postseason).
Though I’ve been an avid follower of the Liga Mexicana del Pacífico (and a non-bandwagon fan of the Águilas) for the past year, I haven’t paid much attention to any of the other leagues. As such, any of my predictions would be uninformed, so this is more of a “who to watch for” from each team. While there are some former and current players from the majors, there are plenty of interesting names to pay attention to.
Serie Nacional de Béisbol (Cuba)— Los Alazanes de Granma
No league is more difficult to find information about than the one coming from Cuba. At least the other leagues have a decent Twitter or Facebook following. Not so in Cuba. With a dearth of former or current MLBers in their ranks, info on the Cuban team isn’t easy to come by. That said, there are some interesting names to watch for.
Former/Current MLBers — None
Yoelkis Céspedes, OF— Another “Yo” Céspedes, you ask? As if there could ever be enough! Yoelkis is in fact the 19-year-old brother of Yoenis, the New York Mets outfielder. He hit .297 the past year for Granma, knocking in 45 runs and hitting six dingers in 90 games. While he doesn’t have the same power his older brother does (who hit .351 and had 23 homers in his age 19 season), his bloodline and young age make him an interesting player to watch.
Alfredo Despaigne, OF — Putting up a .280/.361/.480 hit line in the superior Japan Pacific League in 2016, Despaigne is Cuba’s best current player and biggest power threat. His career 1.045 OPS and 304 home runs are impressive, even if they came in lower-ability leagues and he had an early start (he played for Granma at age 18).
Vladimir Baños, SP — Alright, I might’ve chosen him because his last name translates to “bathrooms”. But at 33 years old, he’s older than most in the league, and he put up a 2.37 ERA in 2016 for the Cuban national team. His 0.842 WHIP in 2016 shows he can still be dominant, but his career 5.1 K/9 rate indicates he pitches to contact.
Liván Moinelo, SP— There are plenty of Cuban pitchers in their mid-thirties, and how they will be used/favored during the Series is unknown. Moinelo, however, is part of a younger generation (born in 1995) and is one of the youngest players on the team. His 8.9 career K/9 rate is really impressive, when you take into account that his “career” spans his age 17 to 20 seasons.
Víctor Víctor Mesa, CF — Baseball America’s Ben Badler called him “the most exciting player on the roster”. Mesa led the league in steals with 40, and produced a .359/.399/.539 slash line, despite being just 20 years old. The speedy center fielder will look to turn heads in Culiacán.
Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana (Dominican Republic) — Tigres del Licey
While Mexico’s LMP might have the most MLB experience, the Liga Dominicana (LIDOM) has seen more prospect participation from MLB. Prospects such as Manny Margot, Hunter Dozier, Ketel Marte, Adalberto Mondesi, and Carlos Asuaje have participated this winter, but many have been called back by their major league teams, and thus weren’t able to be used as reinforcements for the Tigres.
Former/Current MLBers — Alfredo Marté, Leury García, Engel Beltré, Zoilo Almonte, Donovan Solano, Diory Hernández, Anderson Hernández, César Váldez, Leyson Séptimo, Warner Madrigal, Yohan Flande, and Jairo Asencio.
Ronny Rodríguez, 1B — While he spent most of his time at second base and in the outfield for the Cleveland Indians Triple-A team, Rodriguez was a rare first baseman/leadoff hitter for the Águilas de Cibaeñas this season. He was a organizational top ten a few years ago, and though the shine has definitely worn off, he can still swing it, to the tune of a .306/.362/.463 line this winter.
Zoilo Almonte, LF — Though his team, the Águilas Cibaeñas fell to the Tigres in the finals, it wasn’t due to a lack of performance by Almonte. The former Atlanta Brave was 15 for 35 during the series, including two doubles, two triples, two home runs, and seven RBI. Even though he only slashed .250/.337/.327 in the regular season, he has had success with the bat at the Triple-A level before, which is probably slightly higher than the quality he’ll be facing in the Serie del Caribe.
Bryan Evans, SP — Drafted by the Florida Marlins in 2008, Evans bounced around a bit, including a stint in independent ball, and has never made it to the big leagues. He has had a great winter for the Toros del Este, posting a 0.97 WHIP in 11 starts, spanning 51.2 innings.
Michael Dimock, RP — As a reliever in the San Diego Padres organization last year, Dimock had an outstanding 11.6 K/9 rate at Triple-A in 2016. His 5.36 ERA during that time, however, was an eyesore, albeit a bit bloated due to the hitter-friendly environs of the Pacific Coast League. In the D.R., however, he has been outstanding, allowing just two earned runs in 23.1 innings, good for 15 strikeouts and a sub 1.00 WHIP. He also sports an incredible mustache.
Liga Mexicana Mexicana del Pacífico (Mexico) — Águilas de Mexicali
While Mexico might not have the prospect talent that the Dominican Republic has, they have a lot of older players and a few established big league guys that puts their talent near the top of the five leagues. This is mostly due to the number of players who migrate south of the border after getting cut by MLB teams, and a few guys looking to get some reps in before Spring Training. While there aren’t a lot of exciting young players, the talent from Mexico should play well, especially with the home field advantage.
Former/Current MLBers — Chris Roberson, Yuniesky Betancourt, Barry Enright, Jason Bourgeois, Fautino de los Santos, Sergio Romo, and Óliver Pérez.
Luis Juárez LF/DH — The winner of the LMP batting title with a .364 average (along with a .433 OBP and .545 SLG), Juárez may have the best hit tool in the league. He doesn’t move quickly, was pulled for a defensive replacement late in games this year, and he lacks the pure power of most designated hitters. But he just keeps on hitting, so he just keeps on playing. Great guy off the field and easy to root for, for what that’s worth.
Xorge Carrillo, C — A prospect in the Mets organization, Carrillo figures to represent Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. While he’s a bottom of the order bat, he’s a good receiver and is able to control the running game. The 27-year-old was invited to Mets Spring Training this year after hitting .272/.347/.362 in Double- and Triple-A in 2016.
Chris Roberson, CF — As mentioned above, Roberson is nine years removed from an 85 game MLB stint with the Philadelphia Phillies. At the age of 37, he still has plenty in the tank, as he led the league in WAR (according to sabermetria.com) and slashed .332/.419/.485. He is a top of the order spark plug who has the speed and aggressiveness to wreak havoc on the base paths.
Héctor Velázquez, SP — Named the LMP Pitcher of the Year and the MVP of the finals, Velázquez finished the season with the lead in strikeouts (87), collecting them at a 9.2 K/9 rate. In his two starts in the finals, he combined for 14 strikeouts in 13.1 IP, allowing one run on eight hits. He’ll be the number two starter behind Daniel Rodriguez, but Velázquez has been the hot hand.
Óliver Pérez, Sergio Romo, and Jake Sánchez, RP — If Mexico can take a lead into the sixth inning, this trio of relievers can put the game on ice. While Pérez and Romo have established careers in the majors (and were barely above replacement level this year), they should do well against the lesser talent. Sánchez is a starter turned reliever in the Oakland A’s system, and made a 7.1 inning-long relief appearance in the playoffs (from the seventh to the 15th innings), striking out 11 and allowing no runs on two hits.
Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico) — Criollos de Caguas
Former/Current MLBers — Rusney Castillo, Rubén Gotay, Rey Navarro , Iván de Jesús, Randy Ruiz, Eddie Rosario, Jorge Padilla, José de la Torre, JC Romero, Hiram Burgos, Joel Piñeiro, and Fernando Cabrera.
René García, C — A 35th round pick by the Houston Astros in 2008, García has worked his way up the chain in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, reaching Triple-A in 2016. He doesn’t have much power (a career slugging percentage of .335), but makes contact and isn’t easy to strike out.
Rusney Castillo, OF — The Castillo hype-train hasn’t made many MLB stops lately (just eight plate appearances for the Boston Red Sox in 2016), but he was a force in Puerto Rico this winter, slugging .559 with a pair of homers in the Roberto Clemente League final.
Eddie Rosario, OF — The 24-year-old outfielder has spent the last two seasons with the Minnesota Twins. He led the American League in triples (15) in 2015, and has more big league success (.268/.292/.443 in those two seasons) than the majority of the players in Culiacán this week.
Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (Venezuela) — Águilas de Zulia
Of the five leagues, the Venezuelan winter league seems to have the smallest influx of foreign players — that is, most are from Venezuela. While this doesn’t necessarily mean anything, it’s perhaps worth noting that Venezuela failed to get to the second round of the WBC in 2013, and the last three Venezuelan championships in the Serie del Caribe were in 2009, 2006, and 1989. If you are looking to root for the underdog, this might be your team.
Former/Current MLBers — Denis Phipps, José Pirela, Freddy Galvis, René Reyes, Alex Romero, Ronny Cedeño, José Castillo, Jonathan Herrera, Carlos Hernández, Wilfredo Boscán, Yorman Bazardo, Leonel Campos, Rómulo Sánchez, and Jesús Flores.
Denis Phipps, OF — The 31-year-old Dominican had a .700 career slugging percentage in the major leagues. Unfortunately, he only had 11 plate appearances, making his an incredibly small sample size. However, Phipps does seem powerful enough, as he fell just a dinger shy of leading the Venezuelan league this winter. His .932 OPS this past winter makes him a power threat in the heart of the lineup.
José Pirela, OF — Though he struggled mightily in a stint with the Padres in 2016 (.175 OBP), he was a force in the LVBP championship, going 9 for 20 and slugging .750.
Carlos Hernández, SP — a 29-year-old in the Colorado Rockies organization, he tasted Triple-A last year, and did well in a 15 inning stint (1.20 ERA and 13 strikeouts). This winter, in 15.1 playoff innings, he’s limited hitters to a .189 batting average against while putting up a 1.17 ERA and a 0.978 WHIP.
While the Serie del Caribe won’t showcase the top talent that the MLB does (Texas Rangers light hitting infielder Hanser Alberto hit .385/.406/.508 for the Gigantes del Cibao this winter), it should definitely get competitive as the teams try to show which is the better league. And it’s a great primer for those who are getting excited for the World Baseball Classic coming up in March.
While the outlets where the Serie del Caribe may be limited, you can view it with an $14.50 subscription through lmp.tv. The series began February 1, and the final is next Tuesday, February 7.
