Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources.
Jul 12, 2022
Blue Jays' Lourdes Gurriel: Perfect night at the plate
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went 4-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored Tuesday as the Blue Jays defeated the Phillies. Gurriel had a couple infield singles and also two doubles, one of which plated what turned out to be the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning. The outfielder entered June with just a .655 OPS, but that number now sits at .796 following a torrid 35-game stretch. Gurriel is known as a streaky hitter, but when he gets hot, he gets very hot. After slashing a measly .189/.277/.257 over the entire month of May, he followed up with a .355/.394/.505 slash line in June. His scorching hot bat has continued to drive the baseball in July, and the 28-year-old outfielder has now lifted his average to .305 on the season. Gurriel has 35 runs in 2022 and is on pace to surpass his career-high of 62 from last year.
Luis Robert went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run and a walk in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Guardians.
Robert came up to bat with a four-run lead in the top of the ninth and hit a 322-foot three-run home run off of the right-field foul pole -- his 11th home run of 2022. Robert has three home runs over his last seven games. The 24-year-old continues to swing a hot bat, and the multi-hit performance was Robert's fifth in his last 10 games -- a stretch during which he's batting .317 (13-for-41). The surge has boosted Robert's slash line on the season to .290/.323/.438 with 11 homers, 11 steals, 45 runs and 49 RBI through 71 contests.
White Sox's Yoan Moncada: Did not play Game 2 on Tuesday. Moncada didn't start Game 2 of Tuesday's doubleheader versus Cleveland. The struggling infielder went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts against Shane Bieber in the afternoon loss. Josh Harrison will start at third base Tuesday evening.
José Abreu went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Guardians.
Tim Anderson drew a walk to leadoff the game and Abreu drove him in on his 103.4-mph, 404-foot home run to center field in the top of the first. The veteran is 43-for-113 (.381) with 15 extra-base hits since June 13th.
Astros' Aledmys Díaz: On base four times in win.
Díaz went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI, two runs scored and two walks in Tuesday's 6-5 win over the Angels. Díaz hit a two-run home run in the first inning to open the scoring and extend his hitting streak to seven games. In that span, he's gone 11-for-28 (.393) with three of his six homers this season. The versatile 31-year-old is seeing steady playing time in left field, and he's ran with it. He's up to a .241/.295/.382 slash line with 20 RBI, 19 runs scored and a stolen base through 183 plate appearances this year.
White Sox's Oscar Colás: Bumped up to Double-A. The White Sox promoted Colás from High-A Winston-Salem to Double-A Birmingham on Tuesday, James Fegan of The Athletic reports. Colás will get a few games under his belt at Double-A prior to the All-Star break before likely spending most of the second half of the minor-league season in Birmingham. The 23-year-old outfielder from Cuba, who signed a $2.7 million deal with the White Sox in January, hit .311 with 23 extra-base hits in 268 plate appearances for Winston-Salem.
Cardinals' Johan Oviedo: Picks up second win. Oviedo (2-1) allowed a run on two hits and a walk with a strikeout in 1.1 innings, earning the win Tuesday over the Dodgers. Oviedo followed opener Jordan Hicks in this contest. Through five innings in July, Oviedo has yielded two runs, six hits and a walk with six strikeouts. The right-hander owns a 3.32 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 21:6 K:BB in 21.2 innings overall, though he's likely to remain in a multi-inning relief role. He's yet to record a save or a hold in 11 appearances.
Raisel Iglesias was saddled with the loss in Tuesday's matchup against the Astros, surrendering one run on two hits over an inning pitched.
Iglesias entered for the top of the ninth with the two squads locked in a 5-5 tie. He almost immediately got himself into trouble, issuing a walk to Jose Altuve and allowing a single to Aledmys Díaz. The Astros would pounce on this opportunity via a go-ahead RBI double off the bat of Kyle Tucker. While Iglesias was not stuck with a blown save in this one, he did take the end loss, dropping his record to 2-6 in the process. While Iglesias is still a decent 15-of-18 in save chances this season, he has now allowed at least one run in three straight appearances.
Astros' Pedro León: Racks up 10 steals in 12 games. León has hit .324/.519/.568 with two homers, 10 steals and an 11:9 BB:K over his last 12 games for Triple-A Sugar Land. Despite showing some pop and speed throughout the year, León had been struggling to hit for average due to a high strikeout rate -- he went down on strikes at a 30.4 percent clip over his first 61 games while batting just .218. However, ever since going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in consecutive games June 25-26, León has been an entirely different hitter across these last dozen contests, posting just a single multi-strikeout effort while drawing walks at a startlingly strong pace and running wild on the basepaths.
White Sox's Yasmani Grandal: Moving rehab to Triple-A on Tuesday. Grandal (back) will shift his rehab assignment to Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday, James Fegan of The Athletic reports. Grandal will move one step closer to returning from the 10-day injured list as he joins Charlotte for the conclusion of his rehab assignment. The 33-year-old has been out since early June and is expected to return to the big leagues following the All-Star break.
Ariel Miranda was released by the Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization.
Miranda was the MVP of the KBO last year after registering a 2.33 ERA and sensational 225/63 K/BB ratio with the Bears. He just couldn't stay on the field in 2022 because of shoulder troubles, and Doosan gave the left-hander his walking papers to sign Brandon Waddell as his replacement. Miranda could -- and should -- see interest in a variety of leagues this winter.
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