World Baseball Classic: Scouting The Cubans

World Baseball Classic: Scouting The Cubans

By Matt Meyers
February 2, 2006

As the World Baseball Classic approaches and Cuba's presence appears
more and more assured, the mystery surrounding its team diminishes.
Though fans of international baseball will be familiar with many of the
players, Cuba's provisional roster, revealed Tuesday, is geared towards
youth, with the average age of the 60 names being 24.

Much of this youth is concentrated in pitching, where 24-year-olds Dany
Betancourt and Yunesky Maya provide the team with two of its most
promising young arms. Maya is a power righthander who operates in the
low 90s but can touch 96 mph with his fastball. At the World Cup in
September, he had a 1.23 ERA in seven innings while Betancourt had a
1.84 ERA in 15 innings. Betancourt rose to prominence on the
international stage when he closed out the gold-medal game at the 2004
Olympics in Athens against Australia.

Betancourt will most likely not be doing the closing for Cuba at the
WBC, as that role will fall to veteran Pedro Luis Lazo. Though he is a
starter in Cuba's Serie Nacional, Lazo has long been Cuba's primary
closer and is probably most equipped to step in and contend with a major
league lineup late in a game. At the World Cup, he posted a 0.54 ERA in
17 innings with a 27-1 strikeout-walk ratio. Armed with a mid-90s
fastball, the righthander attacks the strike zone and is very efficient
with his pitches. As a result, it would not be a surprise to see him
pitch in every game, as long as he does not surpass any of the pitch
count regulations.

Beyond Lazo closing, it is unclear how Cuba will use most of its
remaining pitchers, as they are all adept at starting or relieving.
Adiel Palma, 35, is a lefthander in the Al Leiter mold. Relying more on
movement and location than velocity, Palma has been known to throw a lot
of pitches and is a very slow worker. Lefty Yulieski Gonzalez appeared
in three games at the World Cup and was 3-0, 1.62, while righthander
Ormari Romero threw eight shutout innings.

One intriguing name on the roster is righthander Vicyohandri Odelin, a
staple of Cuba’s national teams from 2001-2003 but who failed to make
the Olympic ’04 roster or the ’05 World Cup team. He is back in the mix,
however, after a strong season in Serie Nacional.

The most notable exception on the roster is righthander Norge Vera, who
started an exhibition game Cuba played against the Orioles in 1999. In
the 2003 World Cup in Havana, he got the victory in the semifinals in a
6-3 victory over Taiwan and came out of relief the next day to get the
win as Cuba defeated Panama 4-2 to win gold. The 34-year-old, second to
Orlando Hernandez in career winning percentage in Serie Nacional, has
been hampered by arm problems, which likely led to him being left off of
the provisional roster.

The youth of the team is apparent on the offensive side, with
21-year-old Yuliesky Gourriel and 26-year-old Michel Enriquez leading
the way. This tandem terrorized the opposition at the World Cup, as
Gourriel hit .319-8-19 in 47 at-bats while Enriquez hit .500-1-20 in 46
at-bats. Tall and wiry, Gourriel is a third baseman with lighting quick
wrists and boasts the best power on the team. Enriquez, typically the
DH, is their most consistent hitter who rarely strikes out and sprays
line drives across the field. Another key hitter is outfielder Osmani
Urrutia, who has won five straight batting titles in Serie Nacional.

The most intriguing youngster is 16-year-old Dayan Viciedo, MVP of the
World Junior Championships last fall. In Serie Nacional, the 5-foot-10,
195-pounder made the all-star team while playing for Villa Clara. While
Viciedo is far from a lock to make the team, his appearance on the
provisional roster stamps him as one of Cuba’s brightest young talents.
The Villa Clara manager, former national team star Victor Mesa, told
Cuba’s Granma news that Viciedo has “as good arm and tremendous power.
He’s got excellent technique, but at the same time is surprisingly calm
for his young age and very secure in defense.”

Cuba's offense also includes a couple of veterans who will be key
contributors in 33-year-old shortstop Eduardo Paret, who reached base 19
times in 26 plate appearance in September's World Cup before getting
hurt and missing the rest of the tournament, and 30-year-old Eriel
Sanchez, a catcher/first baseman who rivals Gourriel for best power on
the team.

Cuba will shut down its top league, Serie Nacional, from Feb. 12-March
24, a sign of the importance it has placed on the World Baseball
Classic. Once the season shuts down, the 60 players on the provisional
roster will be invited to a camp where they will vie for the 30 spots on
the roster that will play in the Classic. To help prepare, Cuba has
invited the teams from Puerto Rico, Panama and Venezuela to come to Cuba
in late February for a small exhibition tournament. Because Cuba does
not have much in the way of international scouting, this will provide
them with a chance to size up the competition.

None of these countries, however, has yet to accept the invitation.

Cuba’s Provisional World Baseball Classic Roster:

Catchers: Ariel Pestano; Eriel Sánchez; Yulexis La Rosa; Vladimir
García; Roger Machado.

Infield; Joan Pedroso; Danny Miranda; Loidel Chapellí; Ariel Borrero;
Leslie Anderson; Yorelvis Charles; Rudy Reyes; Héctor Olivera; Michel
Enríquez; Yulieski Gourriel; Amaury Suárez; Vismay Santos; Eduardo
Paret; Yorbis Borroto; Juan Carlos Moreno; Luis Miguel Navas.

Outfield: Carlos Tabares; Osmani Urrutia; Frederich Cepeda; Juan Carlos
Linares; Yoandry Urgellés; Alexei Ramírez; Yoennis Céspedes; Yoandy
Garlobo; Andy Zamora; Alfredo Despaigne; Dayán Viciedo; Reutilio
Hurtado; Serguei Pérez

Pitchers: Danny Betancourt; Alberto Bicet; Pedro Luis Lazo; Yunesky
Maya; Deinys Suárez; Yadel Martí; Yosvani Fonseca; Jonder Martínez;
Yulieski González; José Ángel García; Vicyohandri Odelín; Yadier
Pedroso; Luis Borroto; Norberto González; Adiel Palma; Robelio Carrillo;
Valeri García; Alien Mora; Ormari Romero; Luis M. Rodríguez; Ubisney
Bermúdez; Alberto Soto; Israel Soto; Maikel Folch; Vladimir Baños;
Yosvani Pérez.

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