MLB 2022 | Cuban Players News

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources.

Nestor Cortés Jr. (Photo: AP)

Apr 17, 2022

Nestor Cortés recorded 12 strikeouts over five shutout innings Sunday in a no-decision against the Orioles.

Cortes fired an immaculate fourth inning and needed just 88 pitches (66 strikes) to navigate five flawless frames. He scattered three hits and only issued one walk while generating 15 swinging strikes and finishing with a sublime 39 percent CSW (called strikes plus whiffs). The 27-year-old left-hander has reeled off nine consecutive scoreless innings with a 17/1 K/BB ratio to open the season. He'll square off against the Guardians on Saturday in New York and should be rostered in all fantasy formats.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went 2-for-3 with an RBI on Sunday, lifting the Blue Jays to a 4-3 win over the Athletics.

Gurriel put the Blue Jays on the board with an RBI sacrifice fly in the opening frame and went on to notch a pair of hits in the low-scoring affair. The 28-year-old burgeoning slugger is hitting .306/.350/.389 with seven runs scored and five RBI across 40 plate appearances this season.

José Iglesias went 1-for-3 with a walk Sunday in his return to the Rockies' starting lineup.

Iglesias missed a pair of games due to a right hamstring issue. It sounds like a relatively minor concern moving forward and the 32-year-old defensive wizard should be good to go as the Rockies' everyday shortstop.

Randy Arozarena went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles against the White Sox on Sunday.

Arozarena is still looking for his first homer (and first steal and first walk), but this makes four doubles. He still has just two RBI and two runs scored through nine games.

Adolis Garcia went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Saturday's loss to the Angels.

Down by three runs in the bottom of the third, Garcia hit a 400-foot blast to left-center field off of Jose Suarez, bringing the Rangers within one run of the Angels. The slugging outfielder should continue to hit baseballs over the wall and swipe bags, but his batting average and on-base percentage will likely leave much to be desired.

White Sox OF prospect Yoelquis Céspedes went 2-for-5 with two homers on Sunday for Double-A Birmingham.

Céspedes picked up his first two homers of the season in the contest. The younger brother of Yoenis Céspedes, Yoelqui isn’t the same kind of talent as his older brother, but there’s a lot to like thanks to above-average power potential with a speed grade that isn’t far behind. He also has a strong arm like big bro, although not quite the cannon Yoenis had. Céspedes can be a regular, and because of the pop/wheels, he has a chance to be a fantasy helper. He could help Chicago before this season comes to an end.

Yordan Álvarez said Sunday that he expects to return to the Astros lineup on Monday.

Welcome news for fantasy managers. The 24-year-old slugger has been out for a week battling a stomach bug. He expects to be activated from the COVID-19 injured list ahead of Monday's contest against the Angels.

Apr 16, 2022

José Abreu slugs first homer.

Abreu went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run Saturday against the Rays. Abreu took Corey Kluber yard in the fourth inning to record his first homer of the season. It was his only knock of the game, and he entered Saturday having collected zero in hist last 12 at-bats while striking out six times in that span. Though he's hitting only .200/.273/.367 through 33 PA, Abreu has scored seven runs and collected four RBI.

Luis Robert racking up steals.

Robert went 0-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base Saturday against the Rays. Robert has failed to collect a hit in each of his last three starts, spanning 12 AB. However, he reached base Saturday after a throwing error, and proceeded to steal second base before coming around to score. Robert now has five stolen bases and six runs scored across 29 PA this season.