International Prospects: the golden era for Cubans in the NPB

We are in the midst of the golden era for international prospects out of Cuba playing in the NPB. Here’s a deep look at why you should be paying more attention.

HIALEAH,FL-International prospects of Cuban descent have been playing in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league for more than four decades. Since the days of Chico Barbon and Tony González, they have made their presence felt in the land of the rising sun.

The flood gates for Cubans opened up when the Cuban National  Series opened its gates to professionalism in 2014. This has resulted, in my opinion, in the beginning of a Golden Era for Cuban baseball in the far east.

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Now, the following I will illustrate how those from the largest of the Antilles has flourished in the orient.

2014

This was the first year Cubans from the Serie Nacional were signed by Japanese league teams. Yuli Gurriel made his professional debut with the DeNa Baystars and in 62 games the slugger hit .305 with 11 dingers and 30 runs batted in, he also slashed .349/.536/.884.

One of the more highly touted international prospects, Alfredo Despaigne also made his debut with the Chiba Lotte Marines. The hit 12 bombs and drove in 33 in 55 games.

Frederich Cepeda  a little past his prime was playing in his first season in the Nippon circuit with the Yomiuri Giants hit a paltry .194. His teammate that year Leslie Anderson was on his way to an all-star season until he suffered a season-ending injury. During Anderson hit .319, deposited 15 balls in the seats and knocked in 50.

2015

Yoslan Herrera was the grand surprise of that season as a reliever the ex-Major Leaguer compiled in ERA of 2.96 for DeNa. Frederich Cepeda was relegated to the minors for most of the year and Leslie Anderson injured.

Alfredo Despaigne had his worst year in the land of the rising sun hitting .258 with 18 homers and driving in 62 runs in an injury-shortened season with Chiba Lotte.

Yuli Gurriel and his brother Lourdes Jr were both signed by DeNa but didn’t report and eventually defected from Cuba a few months after.

This was arguably the worst year for Cubans in Japan of the era.

International Prospects: The Golden Era for Cubans in the NPB

2016

In his final year with Chiba Despaigne came back with a vengeance going yard 24 times, knocking in 92 and hitting .280.

Dayán Viciedo debuted in the Nippon circuit hitting .274 while depositing  22 balls in the seats and driving in 68 for the Chunichi Dragons.

2017

Alfredo Despaigne signed a lucrative contract with the SoftBank Hawks to be their star slugger and he didn’t disappoint. The power-hitting Cuban hit 35 bombs that year and drove in 105 runs to lead the league in each of those categories. But most importantly won a league title with Fukuoka.

Dodgers castoff Alex Guerrero made an impressive debut in the league with Chunichi and tied Despaigne for the league lead in round-trippers with 35 of his own.

His Chunichi teammate Raúl  Valdés had an effective season toeing the rubber en route to a 6-9 season and putting up an ERA of 3.76 in spite of a lack of run support.

2018

Coming off a disappointing 2017, another one of the highly regarded ex-Whitesox prospect Dayán Viciedo came back with a strong season winning the Central League batting title hitting an impressive .348 while knocking in 99 and also going yard 26 times.

Ex-big leaguer Onelki Garcia in his first year in Japan had a record of 13-9 and an ERA of 2.99 in 26 starts with Chunichi.

Alfredo Despaigne continued to be the model of consistency in Japan putting up 29 dingers and plating 74 runs with the SoftBank Hawks.

Although Ariel Miranda came to SoftBank late in the season after being released by the Seattle Mariners, still managed to win 6 games and put up a sparkling 1.89 earned run average. Miranda was also a key figure in the Hawks winning back to back titles.