MLB 2024 | Yordan hits a two-run home run; Soler gets on base four times; Luis Robert hits a pinch-hit home run to even the game; Quero had an outstanding week
- Ray Otero-Alonso
- Jun 13, 2024
- 5 min read
Cuban Players News for the 2024 Major League Baseball season. A compilation of several sources
Yordan Alvarez went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer on Wednesday in the Astros’ loss to the Giants. José Abreu: hitless again.
Alvarez took Giants ace Logan Webb deep with a monstrous 405-foot blast to center field in the sixth inning. He also had a 414-foot double in the fourth inning that would’ve been a homer in virtually every other ballpark besides Oracle Park. Over his last 31 games, the 26-year-old superstar slugger is batting .347 with seven long balls, 17 RBI, and 20 runs scored for the Astros as Houston's everyday No. 3 hitter. He’s also chipped in a pair of stolen bases during that span as well, just for good measure. In the other hand, José Abreu went hitless again, with a 0-for-3 performance.
Jorge Soler got on base four times.
Soler went 2-for-2 with two walks and one run scored in Wednesday's 5-3 win over the Astros. Soler has found some success at the plate in June, going 11-for-37 (.297) over 10 contests this month. He's also drawn four walks over his last three games, though his 9.6 percent walk rate is still his lowest since 2015. While it's good to see the designated hitter make more consistent contact, he's still struggling to hit for power. He's batting .217 with a .661 OPS, seven home runs, 18 RBI, 26 runs scored, nine doubles and no stolen bases over 56 games this season. Soler's lowest OPS in a season is .503 in 2017, but he played in just 35 games that year.
Luis Robert Jr. went 1-for-1 with a solo homer against the Mariners on Wednesday.
Robert Jr. was on the bench for this one and entered the game as a pinch-hitter to lead off the top of the ninth. With the White Sox trailing by one run, he took Mike Baumann deep to tie things up. Robert was able to extend the contest with his game-tying blast in the ninth inning. The outfielder has four homers over eight games since he returned from a hip injury, but he's added just one other hit while posting a 3:13 BB:K in that span. He's up to six homers on the year with a .196/.250/.554 slash line through 60 plate appearances. Robert is still seeing steady rest given his lengthy injury history, though his power is a welcome addition to a fairly punchless lineup -- he already has the fourth most homers among White Sox batters this year.
It was a hitless night for Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
As a result of the D-backs' 8-3 loss to the Angels, the streak of consecutive hitting games ended at four. During the game, Gurriel Jr. went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Despite this, the Cuban has enjoyed a great start to June, with an offensive line of .333/.366/.615, 3 HRs and 10 RBIs.
Ten consecutive at-bats go by without a hit for Adolis García.
In terms of offensive stability, Adolis hasn't had the best year. As the Rangers defeated the Dodgers 3-2 on Wednesday, Adolis went 0-for-4, which extended his streak without a hit to ten ABs. June has been a miserable month for him with a .103/.143/.179 offensive line, only one home run, and three RBIs. Despite this, Adolis remains a solid pillar in Texas' lineup, and his 40 RBIs and 13 home runs demonstrate that.
Dodgers optioned INF/OF Miguel Vargas to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
With Cavan Biggio arriving in Los Angeles after being acquired from the Blue Jays earlier Wednesday, Vargas was headed back to Triple-A to open up a spot on the 26-man active roster. During his stay with the Dodgers following his promotion from Triple-A on May 17, Vargas started in just six games and hit .250 with one home run and one stolen base over 23 plate appearances. The 24-year-old will now go back to Oklahoma City and bide his time on the farm for a potential call-up later this season. On a stacked Dodgers team, it's hard to envision Vargas getting any kind of serious playing time again in 2024. In his three big-league seasons in LA, including this year, Vargas is slashing a weak .195/.291/.362 with nine home runs, 44 RBI and five steals in 107 games played.
Yasmani Grandal hit bench Wednesday.
Grandal was out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals. Grandal gave way to Henry Davis behind the plate after catching in three of the Pirates' previous four games. Since returning to action May 3 after a season-opening stint on the injured list while he recovered from plantar fasciitis, Grandal has hit just .163 with two home runs, one stolen base, 12 RBI and six runs through his first 25 games with Pittsburgh.
José Iglesias out of the lineup Wednesday.
Iglesias was out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins. Iglesias had started at second base in five of the past six games while the Mets faced a lefty-heavy schedule, but he retreated to the bench Wednesday even though Miami is bringing southpaw Braxton Garrett to the hill. Jeff McNeil got the nod at second base and remains the Mets' top option at the keystone, but Iglesias should continue to play ahead of McNeil against most lefties.
Randy Arozarena was out of the Ray’s lineup again on Wednesday against the Cubs.
Arozarena is battling through a hamstring issue but was able to pinch hit on Tuesday and yesterday. He went 0-for-1. The Rays are calling him day-to-day, so it’s likely that he’s close but not ready to be out in the field for an entire game or sprinting around the bases.
Yariel Rodríguez ready to return this weekend.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Wednesday that the club is considering activating Rodríguez from the 15-day injured list to start either Saturday versus the Guardians, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reported. Rodríguez was terrific in his latest and likely final rehab start with Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday, striking out 10 over four shutout innings while scattering three hits and one walk. He would be starting on short rest if he's brought back Saturday, but the club is considering it because it prefers giving José Berrios an extra day of rest before his next outing, which would fall Sunday. If Rodríguez is in fact tabbed to fill the opening in the rotation Saturday, he could be deployed as part of a tandem with Bowden Francis, who had been occupying the No. 5 spot in the rotation following Alek Manoah's move to the IL. It will be important that Yariel proves that he can pitch deep in games when he returns to the Majors as a starter.
In a big week for Edgar Quero, he hits three home runs.
A year ago, the Chicago White Sox acquired the Angels' #4 prospect Edgar Quero during Los Angeles' brief window of aggressive buying. His defensive skills are among the best in the minors, and he should have no trouble staying behind the dish for a long time. Besides framing pitches well, he can throw out a lot of runners. In terms of offense, he hits well enough to maintain a decent average and show respectable power. His top skill is fielding, but he also has an average or slightly above-average hit tool. In the past week, Quero went 13-for-21 with three home runs, five RBIs, five walks, and only three strikeouts. In addition to showing advanced vision with the bat, he showed some optimism regarding the impact he may have with his bat and glove in the future. It appears Quero has the potential to be an All-Star catcher.
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