MEXICAN LEAGUE CHOOSES NEW PRESIDENT

Mexican League president Horacio de la Vega

The Mexican League has named Horacio de la Vega as their new president.  The 44-year-old de la Vegas is a Mexico City native and two-time Olympic pentathlete for Mexico (1996 and 2000) with a Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas and has an extensive background in sports.  He'll replace Javier Salinas, a former Liga MX pro soccer marketing executive who served as LMB president for two years before leaving office following the 2019 season.

De la Vega was the Commercial and Marketing Director for the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara prior to serving as General Director of Sports in Mexico City, helping coordinate events involving the NFL, MLB, NBA, PGA, UFC and Formula One organizations, among others.  During his time in Mexico City, according to an LMB press release, de la Vega oversaw more than 35 international sporting events per year along with about 400 local or national events. 

LMB Home Run Derby in Mexico City Zocalo

He was Mexico City Commissioner for the Formula One Grand Prix of Mexico, general coordinator for the 2016 MLB Mexico Series between the San Diego Padres and Houston Astros and Fray Nano Stadium, one of the main drivers of the 2015 Mexican League Home Run Derby in Mexico City's Zocalo (the first time a public square was converted into a ballpark) and helped stage NFL and NBA games in Mexico City.  De la Vega was also president of the organizing committee for the 50th Anniversary celebration of the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.  He most recently was a senior advisor for the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

De la Vega will take the Mexican League reins from longtime Liga executive Gabriel Medina, who served as interim president after the LMB and Salinas parted ways.  He'll inherit a 16-team circuit in which many franchises are bleeding red ink with teams playing in front of sparse crowds, although the league did top five million in attendance for the first time since before the turn of the 21st Century.  The vote to name the former National Sports Award winner as a pentathlete reportedly involved all teams, a change from Salinas' 2017 selection originating from just three owners.


CHARROS WIN 7 OF FIRST 8 GAMES TO OPEN LMP SECOND HALF

Jalisco Charros outfielder Dariel Alvarez

The Jalisco Charros had a good first half to their Mexican Pacific League season, finishing one game behind first place Obregon with a 21-14 to come in third, garnering eight playoff points in the bargain.  Now the Guadalajara side has broken out the second-half gate in a big way by winning seven of their first eight games to take a two-game lead over the 5-2 Mexicali Aguilas, who are trying to rebound from an 18-24 showing in a first half that saw manager Bobby Dickerson fired and replaced by Pedro Mere (whose coaching staff includes former skippers Eddy Castro, Bronswell Patrick and Adan Munoz, who was canned as Navojoa helmsman in the first half).

Back to Jalisco, the defending champions have shown well under manager Roberto Vizcarra.  The Charros have a veteran roster that includes catcher Bruce Maxwell, infielders Stephen Cardullo, Manny Rodriguez, Amadeo Zazueta and Agustin Murillo plus outfielders Carlos Figueroa, Henry Urrutia and Dariel Alvarez.  Four Jalisco everyday starters are batting over .300, led by Zazueta's .350 average and Figueroa at .333.  Much of the power has been supplied by Alvarez, whose team-leading eight homers and 33 RBIs supplement his .295 average.  The Cuban-born rightfielder played six winters in that country's National Series before signing with Baltimore in 2013 (and eventually had two cups of coffee with the Orioles).  Alvarez is not regarded as a power hitter, per se, but he's found his groove in Guadalajara after belting 14 roundtrippers for the Charros last season to finish second in the MexPac behind the 15 of Navojoa's Joan Rosa.

Jalisco left-handed pitcher Marco Tovar

Jalisco's pitching staff isn't as star-studded as their daily lineup, with a team ERA of 3.88 in the bottom half among the LMP's ten teams, but Guadalajara is not the easiest place to pitch with its high altitude so those numbers can be a little deceiving at first glance.  The best starter thus far this season has been lefty veteran Marco Tovar, whose 3-2 record hides an ERA of 2.19 that ranks fourth among qualifying MexPac hurlers.  Tovar is a 30-year-old Tijuana product who's pitched in five Mexican League All-Star Games and was named the LMB's Pitcher of the Year in 2011 after going 12-4 for Reynosa that summer.  Among other Jarros starters, import Mitch Atkins, who pitched in several minor league All-Star Games and had two short stints with the Chicago Cubs in 2010 and 2011, is 4-3 with a 2.80 ERA (8th in the LMP) while Octavio Acosta has a perfect 4-0 record and a 4.03 ERA (12th in the loop).  If the Charros have a weak spot, it's in the bullpen.  Although closer Grant Sides is sixth in the league with seven saves, the former Indians farmhand isn't likely writing home about his 12.75 ERA or opponents' batting average of .373.  Even so, you have to outscore your opponents to win a baseball game and the Charros have shown the offense to continue doing just that and are in good position to repeat as LMP champions.

The aforementioned Zazueta (he of the .350 average) now leads the MexPac in hitting, twelve points ahead of Christian Zazueta's .338 for Navojoa.  Culiacan's Seastian Elizalde, Leandro Castro of Los Mochis and Monterrey's Michael Choice are all tied for the lead in homers with 10 each while Jalisco's Alvarez and Jesus Valdez of Obregon both top the RBI table with 33.  Rico Noel of Culiacan recently stole five bases in a seven-game stretch to bring his season total to 20 swipes in 24 attempts, well ahead of the 13 apiece for Elizalde and Obregon's Taiki Sekine.

Los Mochis starting pitcher Yoanys Quiales picked up his first win since November 15 last Wednesday in Mazatlan to go to 7-1 for the season, comfortably ahead of eleven pitchers who have four wins each.  One of them, Mike Kickham of Hermosillo, is tops in ERA at 1.96, with Mexicali's Greg Mahle in second at 2.01.  Another four-win pitcher, Obregon's Brazilian starter Andre Rienzo, heads the strikeouts table with 51 ponches, six more than Quiales and Juan Pablos Oramas of Hermosillo.  An Oramas teammate, Trey McNutt, is tied with Jose Rosario of Guasave with an LMP-best 11 saves while Obregon's Samuel Zazueta is best with 11 holds.  It does not appear that any of the three Zazuetas are related.


LIGA NORTE EXPANDS TO SIX TEAMS; TWO MORE ON WAY?

The Northern Mexico League has added an expansion franchise with the Otay Industriales set to join the Class AA circuit in time for the 2020 season.  At a recent LNM presidents meeting in Tijuana, five existing teams confirmed their participation next year, including the San Quintin Freseros, Caborca Rojos, Ensenada Marineros, La Paz Delfines and the defending champion San Luis Algodoneros.  However, the main topic moving forward was expansion, with Otay brought into the fold and talk of two more new franchises to turn the LNM into an eight-team loop next season.

Mesa de Otay is not an independent city but rather a section of Tijuana, Baja California Norte.  The Industriales will not play in Tijuana's Mexican League ballpark currently used by the Toros during the spring and summer.  Instead, they'll play in Estadio Angel Camarena, a smaller facility where former MLB All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez cut his teeth as a young player, according to El Titan's father David.  The elder Gonzalez is now general director of B.C. Norte's Institute of Sports and Physical Culture, and will help coordinate what is being called "a significant investment" in  the ballpark's remodeling, to be completed by next April, prior to the 2020 LNM schedule.

B.C. Norte governor Jaime Bonilla's first pitch

Gonzalez was joined by Baja California Norte governor Jaime Bonilla, who tossed a ceremonial first pitch before the inaugural game of the Tijuana Amateur Baseball League in late October.  The renovations were announced weeks before the new Liga Norte franchise was granted to Otay, but the two are undoubtedly linked to each other.

Representatives of a second possible team in Baja California Sur were on hand at the meeting.  The LNM made its debut in that state last season when the La Paz Delfines took the field.  No word on where a second team there would be located; the Los Cabos region is the only area with the population to support a franchise but the Mexican League Quintana Roo Tigres could probably testify that selling tickets to baseball games in a tourist center is not the easiest thing to do.  Another potential expansion site was termed "an old acquaintance in the league" in a story posted on Puro Beisbol, but no further details could be given for now.

The Liga Norte also gave Tuesday, April 14 as their 2020 season inaugural date.  If eight teams indeed play next year, each would play an 84-game schedule with the season wrapping up the second week of August.  The LNM is still searching for an executive president, but that topic was tabled at the recent meeting.  The president of the league's Board of Directors, San Luis Algodoneros owner Francisco Montano, has sat behind the big desk the past two years.


Notice to Readers: BBM to go monthly on interim basis

This will be the only Baseball Mexico scheduled to be posted in December.  I'm moving from the U.S. Pacific Northwest to the Philippines this week and will need some time to somehow get settled during the holiday season.  I'm moving to Baguio, a city of 370,000 with ten universities nestled nearly 5,000 feet above sea level in the Cordillera Mountains.  Baguio is noted for its relatively cool temperatures and is nicknamed "The Summer Capital of the Philippines" for that reason.  

Jose Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium, Manila

They do play baseball in the Philippines, by the way, but only at the amateur or scholastic level. There IS a great old 12,000-seat ballpark in Manila named Jose Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium, where the first homers hit after its 1934 opening were by guys named Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth (you may have heard of them), and I would like to catch at least a couple ballgames there while it's still standing.

Anyway, Baseball Mexico will hopefully be back to a weekly basis by February 2020, just in time for the Caribbean Series.  I'll try to post unscheduled updates between now and February when I can, but I expect to be a little preoccupied until then.

135,000+ ATTEND NINE LMP WEEKEND HOME OPENERS

Two presidents: Canizales and AMLO

The Mexican Pacific League opened its 75th season over the weekend, including the Mex Pac debut of Monterrey and the return of Guasave to the LMP.

Monterrey's first game was on the road in front of a full house of 17,000 in Mexicali.  The Sultanes took an early three-run lead in the top of the first inning on a leadoff homer from minor league veteran Wynton Bernard and a two-run shot by former Angels farmhand Eric Aguilera and went on to hold off the Aguilas, 4-3.  Edgar Gonzalez, who also pitches for the Sultanes in the summer, got the win by tossing five innings of two-run ball while former LMP Pitcher of the Year Javier Solano (who allowed both first-inning homers) absorbed the loss for Mexicali.

Guasave's re-entry into the Mex Pac began well enough, with Mexican president Miguel Andres Lopez Obrador on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon accompanied by LMP president Omar Canizales.  However, the pregame ceremony may have been the evening's highlight as visiting Los Mochis converted six innings of one-run pitching by starter Yoanys Quirala into an 8-1 win. Carlos Soto was plunked by a Jake Paulson pitch in the top of the second to push the Caneros' first run across the plate and Jesus Arredondo scored on Andres Ayon's 4-6-3 double-play grounder to provide the Caneros with what proved to be the winning run.

Culiacan's season lidlifter went a little better as the home Tomateros topped rival Mazatlan, 9-4, as the hosts broke a 4-4 tie with five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, thanks in no small part to a bases-loaded triple by Tomateros shortstop Jose Guadalupe Chavez, the number nine hitter in the Culiacan batting order. The game was played in front of a packed house of 20,000 fanaticos at Estadio Tomateros, the largest crowd of the nine home openers played over the weekend (Sunday's Jalisco at Obregon lidlifter was postponed due to rain).  In all, 135,621 patrons bought seats to inaugural games for the 2019-20 LMP season for an average of over 15,000 per opening. Only Monterrey, with 14,230 at their opener, had tickets remaining.

As is usually the case in Mexican baseball, there are a number of new managers in the Mex Pac this winter.  While most are the same names who've been recycled so often they'd earn an award from the Environmental Protection Agency, one less than familiar name is Mexicali skipper Bobby Dickerson.  Dickerson has, in fact, managed the Aguilas in the past (he took the Eagles to the playoffs in 2009-10 before losing to Obregon in the first round), but is better known as a former Baltimore Orioles third base coach who helped develop such players as Manny Machado after managing in the Cubs system for much of the 2000's. Dickerson and Machado were reunited when the former was hired as Philadelphia’s infield coach this year.

More familiar managerial figures to longtime observers of Mexican baseball are Benji Gil (Culiacan), Juan Jose Pacho (Mazatlan) and Homar Rojas (Monterrey).  Gil and Pacho have led their respective current LMP teams to pennants in the past while Rojas is perennially on short lists when teams are hiring. Vinny Castilla, arguably the most productive Mexican-born player in Major League history, has taken the reins in Hermosillo; Rigo Beltran, who bounced around the majors and Japan between 1997 and 2004, is the dugout boss in Guasave; and longtime catcher Adan Munoz, who took over for the Quintana Roo Tigres over the summer, has been picked to run the show in Navojoa.  Back in the saddle are Roberto Vizcarra (defending champion Jalisco), Victor Bojorquez in Los Mochis and Oaxaca's Sergio Gastelum.

The circuit was formed in 1945 as the Pacific Coast League (not to be confused with the 116-year-old American AAA league of the same name and underwent a pair of name changes over the subsequent 25 years before settling on its current moniker in 1970.  While the LMP did not become part of the Caribbean Series until that year and experienced little success and won only three CS championships over its first 32 years as a participant, Culiacan’s 2002 title began a stretch in which the Mex Pac won six crowns in a 14-year stretch (the last coming in when Mazatlan swept their way to the 2016 championship in Santo Domingo).  In addition, the LMP has undergone tremendous growth under Canizales over the past decade and now has a higher attendance average than any other minor league, summer or winter, on the continent, with nearly 10,000 clicking the turnstiles per game. Fans are attending games at new or modernized ballparks in every Mex Pac market except Navojoa, where there’s talk about renovating 49-year-old Estadio Manuel “Ciclon” Echeverria.  

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE

Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

Email: medios@lmp.mx

Website: www.lmp.mx

Facebook: @lmpbeisbol

PRESIDENT: Omar Canizales

SPORTS MANAGER: Christian Veliz

ADMINISTRATOR: Remigio Valencia

DIRECTOR OF UMPIRES: Oscar Marin

CULIACAN TOMATEROS

Email: comunicacion@tomateros.com

Website: www.tomateroscom.mx

Facebook: @clubtomateros

CEO: Hector Ley

Sports Manager: Mario Valdez

Manager: Benji Gil

Ballpark: Estadio Tomateros (20,000)

GUASAVE ALGODONEROS

Email: contacto@losalgodoneros.mx

Website: losalgodoneros.mx

Facebook: @AlgodonerosDeGuasavemx

President: Alfredo Aramburo

Sports Manager: Francisco Lizarraga

Manager: Rigo Beltran

Ballpark: Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon (10,000)

HERMOSILLO NARANJEROS

Email: contacto@naranjeros.com.mx

Website: www.naranjeros.com

Facebook: @ClubNaranjeros

CEO: Arturo Leon Lerma

Sports Director: Derek Bryant

Manager: Vinny Castilla

Ballpark: Estadio Sonora (16,000)

JALISCO CHARROS

Email: contacto@charrosjalisco.com

Website: www.charrosjalisco.com

Facebook: @CharrosBeisbolOficial

President: Salvador Quirarte

Sports Manager: Ray Padilla

Manager: Roberto Vizcarra

Ballpark: Estadio de Beisbol Charros (13,000)

LOS MOCHIS CANEROS

Email: prensa@caneros.net

Website: www.caneros.net

Facebook: @verdesxsiempre

President: Joaquin Vega

Sports Manager: Carlos Sosa

Manager: Victor Bojorquez

Ballpark: Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada (12,000)

MAZATLAN VENADOS

Email: info@venadosdemazatlan.com

Website: www.venadosdemazatlan.com

Facebook: @VenadosdeMazatlan

President: Jose Antonio Toledo

Sports Manager: Jesus “Chino” Valdez

Manager: Juan Jose Pacho

Ballpark: Estadio Teodoro Mariscal (16,000)

MEXICALI AGUILAS

Email: prensa@aguilasdemexicali.mx

Website: www.aguilasdemexicali.mx

Facebook: @aguilasdemexicali

President: Dio Alberto Murillo

Sports Manager: Luis Alfonso Garcia

Manager: Bobby Dickerson

Ballpark: La Nida (17,000)

MONTERREY SULTANES

Email: sultanesoficial@gmail.com

Website: www.sultanes.com.mx

Facebook: @SultanesOficial

President: Jose Maiz

Sports Manager: Miguel Flores

Manager: Homar Rojas

Ballpark: Estadio Monterrey (22,061)

NAVOJOA MAYOS

Email: mayosbeisbol@mayosbeisbol.com

Website: www.mayosbeisbol.com

Facebook: @OficialMayosBeisbol

President: Victor Cuevas

Sports Manager: Lauro Villalobos

Manager: Adan Munoz

Ballpark:  Estadio Manuel “Ciclon” Echeverria (11,500)

OBREGON YAQUIS

Email: yaquis@yaquis.com.mx

Website: www.yaquis.com.mx

Facebook: @YaquisdeObregon

President: Rene Arturo Rodriguez

GM: Manuel Velez

Manager: Sergio Gastelum

Ballpark: Nuevo Estadio Yaquis (16,000)

SALINAS OUT, GABRIEL MEDINA PICKED AS INTERIM LMB PRESIDENT

To the surprise of nobody, Javier Salinas is no longer president of the Mexican League.  After two often-rocky years, the former Liga MX professional soccer marketing executive from Michoacan has been replaced by LMB Director of Planning and Strategy Gabriel Medina on an interim basis.

Former Mexican League president Javier Salinas

Salinas was initially hired by the Liga on May 15, 2017 to replace the retiring Plinio Escalante after first serving as a de facto co-president with Escalante through the conclusion of the recently-begun season. He immediately inherited the Rookiegate scandal involving Quintana Roo Tigres prospects who found themselves on the Mexico City Diablos Rojos protected list after the February 2017 purchase of the Tigres by former Cy Young Award winner Fernando Valenzuela and wife Linda Burgos.  Salinas eventually ruled in favor of the Valenzuelas and ordered the Diablos to pay them money received from the Texas Rangers in exchange for two of the former Tigres prospects along with the return of the rights of the prospects (at last report, the Cancun team was still waiting for both their money and prospects).

Then there was the two-season format the Mexican League used in 2018.  While attendance and revenue levels were little changed from 2017 during the LMB's Spring season and playoffs, but interest plummeted during the Fall 2018 miniseason.  The experiment was abandoned and replaced with this year's two-half, 120-game regular season based on standings points (which, to Salinas' credit, was largely successful).  Another controversy ensued when the Rawlings ball that had been used in the Liga was replaced by one manufactured by Franklin that apparently had a rabbit at its core instead of cork, as home run totals skyrocketed in 2019 in a league already known as being hitter-friendly while causing unrest by pitchers.

The final nail in Salinas' coffin was probably the agreement he brokered between the LMB and Major League Baseball after the latter had frozen the signing of Mexican prospects owned by Liga franchise in the wake of misdeeds involving those teams and MLB scouts.  At first the deal was lauded for re-opening the path to the big leagues for young Mexican ballplayers, but it was subsequently discovered in the fine print that in order for MLB teams to collect a 35 percent commission from the sale of their players (who now receive signing bonuses directly instead of receiving a cut of what their LMB team was paid by Major League organizations, as was the case in the past), that player has to have been on the Mexican League roster for one year.

Interim LMB president Gabriel Medina

Since the vast majority of teenage Mexican ballplayers aren't ready for AAA baseball, the Liga teams who own their rights have largely been able to sign prospects south of the border without an LMB team collecting a commission.  Developing prospects to sell to MLB teams has developed into a cottage industry for some Mexican teams, and the loss of commissions under the new agreement has cost them tens of millions of pesos. Given that most of those teams had been Salinas supporters, including newly-crowned champion Monclova (whose owner, Gerardo Benavides, essentially handpicked Salinas), the loss of significant revenues from prospect sales meant lost backing for the beleaguered league president and it was a matter of time before a change was made.

In taking over for Salinas, Gabriel Medina has more baseball experience than his predecessor brought to the president's office.  Medina, who has also worked as a FOX Sports commentator, started with the Mexican League nine years ago in their communications and marketing department and eventually worked his way up to Director of Planning and Strategy.  He has been actively involved in behind the scenes LMB affairs and a constant presence at Assembly of Presidents meetings, including one last month in Monterrey at which Salinas was not present (considered a bad omen for Salinas' future).

Medina will fill the president's position while a permanent leader is sought.  Some Mexican baseball scribes have speculated that a new president will likely be announced at December's baseball winter meetings in San Diego.

VERDES GRANDE PREMIER12 TEAM CHOSEN; CASTRO TO MANAGE

Javier Salinas, Juan Castro and Edgar Gonzalez

The Mexican National Baseball Team has released its 28-man roster for the upcoming World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 tournament, which will be held in November with opening round action at venues in Mexico, Taiwan and South Korea.  Mexico will be in Group A with the United States, Dominican Republic and The Netherlands when the four teams congregate in Guadalajara between November 2nd through the 5th. The top two finishers in each group will advance to the Super Round in Japan for round-robin play, with the championship game slated for the Tokyo Dome on November 17.  This marks the second Premier12 tournament, with teams vying for berths in next summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo. Guadalajara will be the only city outside Asia to host games.

Mexico's manager in the Premier12 tourney will be former MLB infielder Juan Castro, who was named in August to replace former catcher Dan Firova at the helm of the Verdes Grande, currently ranked sixth in the WBSC.  A 47-year-old Los Mochis native who spent 17 years in the majors, Castro has managed in both the Mexican and Mexican Pacific leagues while his eight coaches include veteran skippers Lorenzo Bundy, Mario Mendoza and Hector Estrada.  Castro played for Mexico's 2006 World Baseball Classic inaugural team and was a coach with the 2013 WBC entry.

While no current Major League Baseball players are on the Verdes Grande roster (including Sergio Romo, Oliver Perez, Alex Verdugo, Joakim Soria and Luis Urias), Mexico's roster has a mix of Mexican League players, minor league veterans and three players in Asian leagues, several with past big league experience. Tijuana will send five players to Guadalajara next month, many of whom spent time under Castro during his Quixotic 2017 stay in the Gateway to Mexico, while newly-crowned champion Monclova also will be represented by five players.  The most prominent members are second baseman Esteban Quiroz, first baseman Efren Navarro, Monclova closer Carlos Bustamante, Acereros outfielder (and Serie del Rey MVP) Noah Perio and a pair of third basemen, former MLBer Christian Villanueva of the NPB Yomiuri Giants and current Acereros cornerman Jose Vargas.

Matt Clark while playing for Brewers

An X-factor on the roster is designated hitter Matt Clark, whose mother is Mexican, has shown light-tower power at times over four LMB seasons since 2017, hitting .316 with 27 homers and 87 RBIs in 79 games this summer for the Bravos.  The 2008 NCAA home run champ as an LSU player was traded twice and loaned once en route to playing for four teams in 2018 before signing with Leon as a free agent in April. He suffered a fractured wrist after being struck by a Matt Gage pitch during a June 5 game in Mexico City, adding injury to insult as the Diablos Rojos went on to post a ridiculous 29-0 win over the Bravos.  Clark came back on July 31 and hit .351 with six homers over his last ten games and has had plenty of rest since, so the 6'5" 230-pounder could be a force in home run haven Guadalajara. However, he did struggle in 17 games for the hometown Jalisco Charros of the Mex Pac in 2017-18, batting .200 with two homers in 17 games. Before coming to Mexico, Clark was 5-for-27 (.185) in 16 games for Milwaukee in 2014, his lone MLB season and is one of just three players to belt three homers among five or fewer career big league hits (Keith McDonald and Ed Salicki are the other two, with McDonald dialing 9 on all three of his safeties).

Mexican National Team Premier12 roster

Pitchers (14): Manny Barreda (Tijuana LMB), Brendan Bernardino (Tijuana LMB), Carlos Bustamante (Monclova LMB), Humberto Castaneda (Houston A), Jesus Cruz (St. Louis AAA), Felipe Gonzalez (Monterrey LMB), Justin Kelly (Monclova LMB), Orlando Lara (Tijuana LMB), Adam Quintana (Monclova LMB), Horacio Ramirez (Tijuana LMB), Arturo Reyes (Rays AAA), Fernando Salas (Philadelphia AAA), Eduardo Vera (Nationals AAA), Ryan Verdugo (Uni-President CPBL).

Catchers (2): Armando Araiza (Mexico City LMB), Ali Solis (Monterrey LMB).

Infielders (7): Phillip Evans (Chicago Cubs AAA), Jorge Flores (Yucatan LMB), Efren Navarro (Hanshin NPB), Esteban Quiroz (San Diego AAA), Javier Salazar (Tijuana LMB), Jose Vargas (Monclova LMB), Christian Villanueva (Yomiuri NPB).

Outfielders (4): Jesus Fabela (Mexico City LMB), Jonathan Jones (Yucatan LMB), Juan Perez (Saltillo LMB), Noah Perio (Monclova (LMB).

Designated Hitter: Matt Clark (Leon LMB).

Manager: Juan Gabriel Castro.

Coaches (8): Martin Arzate (Monclova LMB), Lorenzo Bundy (Monclova LMB), Hector Estrada (Oaxaca LMB), Santos Hernandez, Mario Mendoza, Ruben Niebla (Cleveland), Humberto Sosa (Yucatan), Gil Velazquez (Arizona).