Fernando Cruz – Image via his Instagram
Videos, videos, videos
This week looks to be our most interactive recap of the summer as there are a ton of videos for you to watch, largely due to the Red team playing one of the Giants’ DSL teams. Thankfully my friend Itsacon on X reminded me of that. Aside from the Mets, there aren’t that many DSL feeds.
I did an interview with Steven Pollakov, the Cubs’ minor league hitting coordinator, but I won’t post that until next week because I wanted to get to the videos today.
Let’s get to what we saw.
Emilio Ramos is an 18-year-old pitcher from Mexico who has had a sub-two ERA all season. He has been healthy all year as a starter, and the video gives several early impressions. Most notable is that he basically throws a mix of fastball, slider, and curve. However, for the curve, he slows down his arm motion significantly. I’m surprised the other team didn’t catch this tip. He’s pretty close to the zone on most of his fastballs, but it looks like his slider is his big weapon.
Enyel Rosario has a nice little swing and I think I like what I see here. We can build on that.
Fernando Cruz was back in action this week. And his swing is just great. Con posted a couple of videos of Fernando. One of him pulling the ball and the other going oppo. Either way, it’s easy to see why he’s the Cubs’ top prospect in the Dominican Republic. I hope he can come to the States since he’s only been in 19 games. That might be a little difficult due to roster restrictions, but he needs a lot more experience. Yesterday he hit his second home run in 10 days. The third video below was from yesterday’s game and I stole it from his Instagram.
I also have a video of Edgardo de León hitting a single here. What I like is that he just stays with the ball and goes right back to the middle with it. He doesn’t try to do too much and takes what he’s given.
What happens in DSL?
The Blue Team
Record: 25-23
They’re on a roll right now! All three pieces of the team are playing well. The pitching is great! IF Darlyn De Leon has recovered along with OF Alexey Lumpuy and they form a nice one-two. OF Cesar Lugo is as solid as ever. Meanwhile, Ludwing Espinoza is having his best month. But seriously, adding Morey to the rotation has solidified the roles.
The Red Team
Record: 17-29
They had a brutal second half of July, but they look like they’re showing signs of life. The top six in the lineup is turning into something of a murder row with Enyel Rosario, Ezequiel Pena, Fernando Cruz, Edgardo De Leon, Daniel Campos and Robin Ortiz (July’s Hitter of the Month). They’ve put up crooked numbers in a hurry at times. The problem is that the bullpen can’t hold leads.
The usual part of the summary
Each team only has seven games left, and that’s a little hard to grasp. Unlike Mesa, who started a month earlier, the Dominican started at the usual time in early June. I’m glad I stuck with following the starting lineup every week throughout the year and not a lot of individual games. There was nothing new this week, and we may see one or two more things in the final seven games.
The blue starting rotation
Week 1 – David Bracho, Yander Maria, Emannoel Madeira, Darian Rivero
Week 2 – Yander Maria, Emannoel Madeira, Gabriel De La Cruz, Darian Rivero, Maria Again
Week 3 – Emmanuel Madeira, Gabriel De La Cruz, Darian Rivero, Yander Maria, Madeira
Week 4 – – De La Cruz, Rivero, Ronny Lopez, Maria, De La Cruz
Week 5 – Rivero, Alvarez, Geovanny Vazquez, Maria, De La Cruz
Week 6 – Rivero, Vazquez, Madeira, Maria, Rivero
Week 7 – Alvarez, Vazquez, Madeira, Ismael Morey, Maria
Week 8 – Alvarez, Vazquez, Madeira, Maria, Rivero
Week 9 – Ronny Lopez, Saul Siri, Madeira, Morey (cancelled due to rain), Maria (finished the rain game),
Week 10 – Lopez, Vazquez, Madeira, Morey, Maria, Rivero
Red starting rotation
Week 1 – Santiago Payares, Frailin Alejo, Luis Ghisays, Juan Archbold
Week 2 – Emilio Ramos (18 years old from Mexico), Jostin Florentino, Luis Ghisays, Juan Archbold, Stiven Sanchez, Ramos again, Alejo
Week 3 – Florentino, Alejo, Ghisays, Payares, Ramos, Stiven Sanchez
Week 4 – Alejo, Florentino, Ghisays, Ramos, Sanchez
Week 5 – Archbold, Alejo, Ghisays, Florentino
Week 6 – Ramos, Archbold, Alejo, Ghisays, Ramos
Week 7 – Archbold, Alejo, Ghisays, Ramos
Week 8 – Edwardo Melendez, Alejo, Ghisays, Ramos, Florentino
Week 9 – Alejo, Melendez, Ramos (cancelled due to rain), Ghisays
Week 10 – Alejo, Melendez, Ramos, Ghisays, Florentino
