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B a s e b a l l
M e x i c o
Monday,
January 18, 2021
HERMOSILLO,
CULIACAN BOTH ONE WIN AWAY FROM MEX PAC FINALS
Hermosillo has been able to overcome
the loss of seven players due to positive tests for the Wuhan virus to
come to
within a win of reaching the LMP championship series. The Naranjeros
topped
Monterrey, 8-6, Sunday night by overcoming a 2-0 deficit in the first
inning to
build a 6-3 lead in the top of the sixth before holding on over the
final three
frames for the win to go up 3 games to 2 in the semifinal series.
Julian Leon
and Yadiel Hernandez each poked their first playoff homers (Leon's was
a
two-run blast) to help key the Orangemen triumph while Isaac Paredes,
Niko
Vasquez and Alex Robles combined for six singles, three runs and two
RBIs. Game
Six is scheduled for Tuesday at Estadio Sonora in Hermosillo.
The Naranjeros suffered a blow with
the loss of both Pitcher of the Year Juan Pablo Oramas and reliever of
the Year
Fernando Salas when the team was leading the Sultanes, 2 games to 0, in
the
series. Also taken off the roster were pitchers Kenneth Sigman, Wilmer
Rios and
Alan Rangel, catcher Cesar Salazar and shortstop Walter Ibarra. All are
expected to be lost to manager Juan Navarrete for at least the rest of
the
series. Neither Rangel nor Ibarra had appeared in the postseason prior
to the
time of testing.
Centerfielder Jose Cardona has been
solid in the playoffs for Hermosillo, leading the team with a .357
average and
seven RBIs over both stages while Paredes is hitting .368 in five games
since
being picked up as a reinforcement from Mazatlan. Ryan Verdugo lost a
game to
Monterrey after winning twice in the first round but his 2.70 ERA tops
all
Naranjeros starters.
Among the Sultanes batters,
shortstop Roberto Valenzuela leads starters with a .368 average while
third
baseman Ricardo Serrano's three homers and seven ribbies are tops to
augment
his .310 BA. Serrano, Culiacan's Jesse Castillo and Victor Mendoza of
Obregon
are tied for the most playoff homers while Castillo and Mendoza are
knotted up
for the RBI leadership with eleven apiece. The Sultanes bullpen has
carried the
day in the postseason, with relievers Francisco Moreno and Norman
Elenes
combining for five of Monterrey's first six playoff victories. Moreno
and
Elenes have each won a game in the Sultanes semi set with Hermosillo
and the
only starter to break through for a win in their first round series
with
Mexicali was Edgar Gonzalez.
In the other Final Four matchup,
Obregon stayed alive in their series with Culiacan with help from a
seemingly
unlikely source Sunday. Pitcher Hector Velazquez, a mainstay with the
Navojoa
Mayos for several winters, tossed 5.1 good innings against the
Tomateros and
allowed just one run on three hits while striking out four in the
Yaquis' 6-2
win in Culiacan. The Tomateros still lead the series, 3 games to 2, and
are a
win away from the championship series, but they'll have to win on the
road
Tuesday or Wednesday at Estadio Yaquis for a chance to defend their
title.
Carlos Sepulveda had four hits in the Obregon win, scoring once, while
Dariel
Alvarez added another four safeties, including an RBI double that
plated
Sepulveda in a Yaquis' three-run fifth inning that gave them a 5-0 lead
that
they never relinquished.
Jesse Castillo was red-hot for
Culiacan over their first four games against Obregon after being picked
up from
Guasave as a reinforcement, going 9-for-14 (.638) with four doubles and
a pair
of roundtrippers while driving in eight runs to give notice that his
physical
miseries of the past two years may be behind him. Five other Tomateros
regulars
were batting over .300 for the playoffs, with Efren Navarro (.368),
Sebastian
Elizalde (.359) and Michael Wing (.343) combining with Castillo to form
the
most-feared offense left in the LMP playoffs since Jalisco's
first-round
ouster. Culiacan's pitching has come through for skipper Benji Gil as
well,
with nine relievers combining for a remarkable 0.00 ERA through the
first ten
games. The starters haven't done badly either, as Edgar Arredondo
(1.42) and
Manny Barreda (2.29) are among seven pitchers with one win apiece
through the
weekend.
Not that Obregon have been slouches
at the plate. Four Yaquis regulars are hitting north of .300 in the
postseason,
with Leandro Castro (.378) and Alonzo Harris (.316) leading the way.
After
missing a stretch of the second half, apparently due to an unspecified
suspension, Harris has made up for his absence in the playoffs. The
2019
Mexican League MVP has gone 12-for-38 in batting with a double and two
homers,
staling four bases, scoring
nine
runs
with five RBIs while playing a flawless leftfield. Dallas Martinez has
been one
of the better postseason starting pitchers, going 2-0 with 13
strikeouts and a
2.40 ERA (although his seven walks over 15 innings are a bit
worrisome). A
concern for Yaquis manager Sergio Gastelum has been Brazilian Andre
Rienzo,
who's lost all three of his playoff decisions while seeing his ERA
balloon to
14.00 after nine innings of work. Rienzo was 3-0 in the regular season
with a
3.15 ERA over six starts and Gastelum would love to see him return to
that form
ASAP.
A pair of the Mex Pac's most notable
hitters have taken their talents elsewhere for playoff ball. Outfielder
Yadir
Drake, who was among the LMP batting leaders during the regular season
with a
.321 average for Guasave (his eight homers and 40 RBIs also ranked in
the top
ten) begged out of the second reinforcement draft after his Algodoneros
were
knocked out in the first round so he could return home and play for
Matanzas in
the Cuban National Series, although he hadn't played for the Cocodrilos
through
six games as of Sunday night.
Another LMP veteran, Mexicali first
baseman Luis Juarez, signed on with Cibaenas of the Domincan League
after he
wasn't chosen as a reinforcement despite batting .333 with a homer and
a
MexPac-leading nine RBIs in the first round. Juarez was picked up by
the
Aguilas as a reinforcement heading into their LiDom championship series
against
the Cibao Gigantes but (like Drake) hadn't appeared for his new team as
of Sunday.
ORAMAS
CHOSEN AS LMP PITCHER OF THE YEAR
The Mexican Pacific League announced
last week that Hermosillo left-hander Juan Pablo Oramas was chosen by
the
specialized press (any definition of “specialized” welcome) as the
LMP's
2020-21 Pitcher of the Year, winning the Vicente “Huevo” Romo Trophy.
Oramas finished with an 8-2 record
and a 2.80 ERA in 12 starts, throwing 70.2 innings in his rotation
role. The
native of Villahermosa, Tabasco ended up sharing the lead of victories
with
Luis Miranda of Guasave, who took the Rookie of the Year award. Oramas
was also
the second-best in strikeouts with 57, trailing only the 64 whiffs of
Culiacan's Manny Barreda.
The 30-year-old portsider was signed
in 2007 as a free agent by San Diego and went 2-3 with a 3.81 ERA for
the
Padres' Dominican Summer League rookie team that year. He returned to
the Santo
Domingo-based outfit in 2009 and was 3-2 with a microscopic 1.02 ERA in 19 games (including five starts), but he
spent most of that season with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos and was
named the
Mexican League's Rookie of the Year after going 9-1 and posting a 2.31
earned-run average over 89.2 innings, appearing in the LMB All-Star
Game.
Oramas had a rocky winterball season for Mex Pac champion Hermosillo
(2-3, 4.59)
but made a couple of relief appearances for the Naranjeros at the
Caribbean
Series.
Oramas went on to spend five more
summers in the Padres system, earning California League Pitcher of the
Week
honors once with Lake Elsinore in 2010 and pitching in a game for AAA
Tucson
one year later, before San Diego waived him in December 2014. Toronto
signed
him five days later but he was cut in the Jays' 2015 training camp.
Since then,
he's been one of the more solid pitchers in Mexican baseball, pitching
in both
the 2015 and 2018 All-Star Games along the way. Through seven Liga
seasons,
Oramas has a 39-30 with a 4.17 ERA. Over 12 Mex Pac campaigns, he's
gone 44-28
and registered 3.55 on the ERA meter.
Oramas, who becomes the first
Hermosillo hurler to be named Pitcher of the Year since Edgar Gonzalez
did it
in 2002-03, garnered 57 percent of the votes to easily beat out
Jalisco's Luis
Ivan Rodriguez (17%), Javier Solano of Mexicali (12%), Solano's Aguilas
moundmate Miguel Pena (6%), Guasave's Luis Miranda (5%) and Dallas
Martinez of
Oaxaca (3%).
Winners
of Mexican Pacific League awards thus far:
Rookie
of the
Year (Baldomero “Melo” Almada Trophy): Luis Miranda, Guasave.
Reliever
of
the Year (Isidro Márquez Trophy): Fernando Salas, Hermosillo.
Pitcher
of
the Year (Vicente “Huevo” Romo Trophy): Juan Pablo Oramas, Hermosillo.
SIXTEEN
MEXICANS AMONG TOP PROSPECTS IN 30 MLB SYSTEMS
A total of 16 Mexican players were
placed in the lists of the top 30 best prospects in each of the 30
different
Major League organizations, according to the most recent listing on
MLB.com.
Nick González, born in the United
States to Mexican parents, was chosen seventh overall by Pittsburgh in
the 2020
Draft out of New Mexico State University and is regarded as the top
prospect of
the Pirates and the # 32 prospect of all the Major Leagues, being the
only
Mexican in the MLB top 100. Called the “best all-around hitter in
college
baseball” by the Fansided website, Gonzalez hit .399 with 37
homers and
152 RBIs in 128 games over three seasons for the Aggies (including
.448/12/36
numbers in 16 games last spring before the schedule was canceled due to
the
pandemic) while playing second base, shortstop and centerfield.
Other players such as Luis González
(Chicago White Sox), Gerardo Carrillo (Los Angeles Dodgers), Tirso
Ornelas (San
Padres de San Diego) and Chihuahua pitcher Efraín Contreras (San Diego
Padres)
rose in their respective team rankings while the newcomers on the list
are
Milan Tolentino (Cleveland Indians), Mateo Gil (San Luis Cardinals) and
Omar
Cruz (San Diego Padres). Second baseman Nick Madrigal is rated #3 in
the White
Sox system, catcher Alejandro Kirk is Toronto's sixth-ranked prospect,
as is
Detroit infielder Isaac Paredes, while pitcher Seth Romero rates
seventh among
Washington's youngsters and first baseman Drew Mendoza (a fellow Nats
hopeful)
is ninth in that organization.
Both Kirk and Paredes remain in the
same positions in their organizational rankings and continue to be
considered
as “prospects” although, like Luis González, they already debuted in
the Major
Leagues in 2020. Kirk hit .375 with a homer in nine games for the Jays,
Paredes
hit .220 with a grand slam over 33 games for the Tigers and started 30
games at
third base last season (most among Detroit players) while Hermosillo
product
Gonzalez appeared in three games for the White Sox in 2020. Three of
the top 30
Chisox prospects hail from south of the border, as do three players in
the
Padres and Nationals organizations.
Among the remaining prospects,
Padres #10 prospect Ornelas hit .273 in 18 Mexican Pacific League games
for
Obregon and Navojoa this winter before being shelved with an arm injury
in
November while the Cardinals' #22 prospect Gil, the son of Culiacan
manager
Benji Gil, batted .186 for the Tomateros in 16 regular season games and
has
gone 0-for-1 in his lone playoff appearance thus far.
THE
16
MEXICANS IN THE TOP 30 OF THEIR ORGANIZATIONS
CHICAGO
WHITE SOX: 2B Nick Madrigal (#3), OF Luis González (#11), P Bernardo
Flores
(#16).
CLEVELAND
INDIANS: SS Milan Tolentino (#23).
-DETROIT
TIGERS: 3B Isaac Paredes (#6).
-LOS
ANGELES DODGERS: P Gerardo Carrillo (#16).
-PHILADELPHIA
PHILLIES : P JoJo Romero (#14).
-PITTSBURGH
PIRATES: 2B Nick Gonzáles (#1).
-SAN
DIEGO PADRES: OF Tirso Ornelas (#10), P Omar Cruz (#17), P Efraín
Contreras
(#29).
-ST.
LOUIS CARDINALS: IF Mateo Gil (#22).
-TORONTO
BLUE JAYS: C Alejandro Kirk (#6).
-WASHINGTON NATIONALS: P Seth Romero (#7), 1B Drew Mendoza (#9), C Tres Barrera (#17).
