Eric Valenzuela, Adrián Gómez, Cristian Rego, Eugenio Rodríguez, Osniel Castillo and Dayron Núñez are now in the Dominican Republic
14ymedio/Swing Completo, Havana, October 22, 2024 — Baseball players Eric Valenzuela, Adrián Gómez, Cristian Rego, Eugenio Rodríguez, Osniel Castillo and Dayron Núñez are the most recent athletes who have fled Cuba. The escapes occurred between Sunday and Tuesday, according to reports by sports journalist Francys Romero. All of them are now in the Dominican Republic and will be presented to professional scouts from the MLB organizations.
Of the six, four are pitchers and average 90 mph throws. Despite their youth, every one has a previous tour of the local championships of various categories. Of them, Eric Valenzuela, the oldest of this group, had greater prominence in the National Series, in the ninth of Isla de la Juventud.
The 20-year-old player, who is 6’5″, played three classics in the country. In 33 matches he had 259 starts. He recorded three wins, nine defeats and an offensive average against him of .250.
Despite their youth, they all have had previous participation in the local championships of various categories
For his part, Adrián Gómez, 18, was one of the most outstanding prospects during trials carried out this year by the Cuban Baseball Federation for the most talented players.
Dayron Núñez is another pitcher with a lot of power in his throws. At only 19 years old, the player from Guantánamo also has experience in the National Series, where he won four games and lost six with the provincial team.
The youngest of the pitchers, Cristian Rego, barely 16 years old and 6’3″, has been one of the most coveted players by various seekers of new talent during the international tournaments in which he participated. In the U18 Pre-World Cup, last August in Panama, the player from Havana did not allow clean runs in 13.1 innings of work. In addition, although he records a speed that ranges between 87 and 90 mph, due to his physical qualities, he can potentially throw at more than 95 mph, according to Swing Completo.
To the list is added Eugenio Rodríguez, who has experience in the National Series with the Alazanes de Granma. In 2023 he had few opportunities on the offensive, since he only accumulated 29 official turns at bat, in which he hit six home runs, for an average of .207. However, at under 20 years old, he is seen as a medium-term prospect.
Finally, Osniel Castillo is a skilled runner and an excellent hitter, which placed him as first up at bat when he represented Cuba in international tournaments. During the U18 in August, he was the powerful hitter of the Cuban ninth.
Last week, another player who broke his link with the Island was the veteran Raúl González, who asked for asylum in the United States
Just last week, another player who broke his link with the Island was the veteran Raúl González, who asked for asylum in the United States after being excluded from the national team, next to compete in the Premier 12 tournament. The 37-year-old player is in the process of investigation by US immigration authorities, after entering through the northern border with Canada, where he played in the main league of that country with the Kitchener Panthers, under the auspices of the Cuban Baseball Federation.
Most of the athletes fleeing Cuba are baseball players. According to a count of the official weekly Trabajadores, in January 2022, at least 862 athletes had left the Island in a decade, of which 635 were baseball players. Today it is estimated that almost 1,100 athletes have fled the country in that period. To that figure we must add the dozens that have fled this year. In addition, since 2012, the exodus includes 2,344 coaches, 85 of whom worked at the highest level, according to the National Institute of Sport, Physical Education and Recreation.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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