RUDY AMADOR SIZZLES, MONCLOVA SWEEPS SALTILLO

Rodolfo Amador's BP extended to Saltillo pitchers

The Mexican League opened their 2019 season over the weekend with a full slate of games among its 16 teams.  As usually happens in baseball, some hitters have been red-hot coming out the gate but it would be hard to find an LMB batter who's off to a more torrid start than Monclova third baseman Rodolfo Amador.

Although the Loreto, Baja California native may be the least famous of three Amadors performing in the Liga this year (behind Mexico City slugger Japhet and new teammate Jose, a perennial .300 hitter who the Acereros signed as a free agent last Wednesday), Rodolfo has already earned a reputation as one of the best hot-corner gloves in Mexico over eight seasons in the LMB.  However, even though he is a career .302 batter who represented Mexico during last month's Samurai Series in Japan, Rudy has been regarded more as pesky hitter but not one of the Steelers' big guns.

The 26-year-old Amador took a big step toward altering those impressions during Monclova's three-game sweep at home of Saltillo over the weekend by going 7-for-11 (.636) with a homer and six RBIs over the series.  He was not flawless in the field, however, committing two errors in eleven chances and while he did start one double play against the Saraperos, Amador's fielding percentage stands at an uncharacteristic .818.  It's certain that his batting average will decline and his fielding percentage will rise in short order as more games are played but if last weekend was any indication, he may be one more Amador who pitchers will not be able to look past in the order.

Monclova was one of four teams to win all three games in their respective weekend opening series, along with Monterrey and Dos Laredos in the LMB North and Oaxaca in the South (each copping sweeps in their own ballpark).  The Sultanes may have been the most impressive in their broom job over Spring 2018 champion Yucatan, including a six-run outburst in the eighth inning of Friday's 7-1 triumph over the Leones as 20,533 watched in Estadio Monterrey.  The Fall 2018 kingpin Sultanes sent all nine batsmen to the plate, with Agustin Murillo capping the scoring with a two-run homer off Yucatan reliever Maikel Cleto.

Dos Laredos made short work of Union Laguna with three big wins at Nuevo Laredo's venerable Parque La Junta.  The Tecolotes are one of the more interesting teams in the LMB this year.  After a Spring 2018 debut season (after moving to the Texas border from Veracruz) in which they finished last in the LMB North under then-manager Eddie Castro with a 22-35 record, the Owls turned things around under new skipper Felix Fermin in the Fall campaign with a 30-26 mark and qualified for the playoffs.  This year's edition of the Tecos has a mix of players like former Phillies All-Star outfielder Domonic Brown, speedster Johnny Davis (a former Brewers farmhand), versatile vet Balbino Fuenmayor, powerful ex-Diamondbacks minor leaguer Rudy Flores, one-time MLB pitcher Sergio Mitre, ex-phenom Luis Heredia (back in Mexico after a record 2012 $igning with the Pirates) and fellow hurler Jose Oyervidez, one of Mexico's better pitchers over the past few years when healthy.

Added to the starting rotation will be former Oregon State star Luke Heimlich, the 2018 College Pitcher of the Year who has not pitched an inning of pro ball after word of a sexual misconduct conviction at age 15 surfaced and in effect made Heimlich globally radioactive.  The Mexican League office conducted their own investigation after he was signed by Dos Laredos last month and recently okayed to play.  Heimlich is expected to start Tuesday night in the Tecos' return-series opener against Laguna in Torreon.

Jaime Brena retired after 20 years as Oaxaca 2B

Meanwhile, the Oaxaca Guerreros won all three of their opening contests against Tabasco over the weekend to be the only LMB South team to go unbeaten in their opening series.  Granted, the Olmecas have not exactly been juggernauts in recent history (although the franchise is showing some signs of life under new owner Juan Carlos Manzur), Oaxaca batted .358 with eight homers during their trio of trouncings in which they outscored the visitors, 29-18.

Former big leaguer Eury Perez patrols the Guerreros outfield with Alonzo Harris and Alan Sanchez while longtimers Erick Rodriguez and Iker Franco share the catching chores for manager Sergio Gastelum.  Jaime Brena stroked an RBI single in Sunday's game during which he subsequently turned second base over to 22-year-old Omar Meza after patrolling the Oaxaca middle infield for 20 years. Despite possessing little power or speed afoot, Brena kept rallies going by topping the .300 mark nine years and walking over 600 times while dispaying a proficient glove in the field en route to five All-Star Game selections. His number 10 was retired by the Guerreros  A good comparison might be made with former Cubs All-Star Glenn Beckert.

Among pitchers, the best start over opening weekend might've belonged to Puebla's Travis Barnwart, a former Wichita State standout and seven-year A's minor leaguer who comes to Mexico after three years in Korea, a season in the Cleveland system and an 8-4 record with Wichita in the indy American Association last year.  Barnwart scattered six hits over five innings against Campeche on Saturday night in a 13-5 bopping of a Piratas team with some decent hitters like C.J. Retherford, Olmo Rosario, Paul Leon and 2018-19 LMP Rookie of the Year Jasson Atondo.

Attendance was solid in most of the eight cities hosting opening weekend series.  As expected, Mexico City did the best with an average of 19,387 fans clicking the turnstiles at the futuristic Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu.  Tijuana fans came out to the tune of 16,191 per opening to see their Toros while Monterrey had a decent opening series at the gate with Yucatan, drawing just under 15,000 per night.  At the other end of the spectrum, just over 10,000 spectators in Oaxaca attended the entire set against Campeche, a disappointing turnout after the Guerreros were surprise entries last autumn's Serie del Rey with eventual flag-winners Monterrey.


GUEST GAME REPORT: RIELEROS AT BRAVOS (SUNDAY) IN LEON

Written submissions about baseball in Mexico from BBM readers are welcome.  One of those folks, Bob Broughton, is a Vancouver, Canada native who now lives in Guanajuato and has become a devoted Leon Bravos fan.  He posted the following report and photos from Sunday's Leon-Aguascalientes game at Estadio Domingo Santana on his CourtesyRunner.com website, which intersperses stories on Mexican baseball with outstanding coverage of NAIA college baseball and is well worth a look-see:

Leon outfielder Felix Pie

The Rieleros (Railroaders) de Aguascalientes (2-1) defeated the Bravos de León (1-2) 15-9 at Estadio Domingo Santana in León on April 7. After an excellent start by RHP Yasutomo Kubo in the season opener, the Bravos have given up 37 runs in their last two games.

The Bravos led this game 6-4 going into the seventh inning, but the Rieleros put up ten runs in the top of the seventh. The inning started with RHP Normand Mendoza on the mound. He gave up a three-run home run by DH Saul Soto. He was replaced by LHP Marco Ramirez, who walked the only batter he faced. The next pitcher was RHP Tony Amezcua, and he was greeted with a two-run home run by 3B Jose Vargas. Amezcua walked the next two batters, then a run scored on a single by RF Edson Garcia. That chased Amezcua, and he was replaced by RHP Fredy Quintero. Quintero struck out the first batter he faced (he had an ERA of infinity coming into the game), but the next batter, SS Richy Pedroza, hit a two-RBI single. He was followed by 2B Michael Wing, who hit a two-run home run, his second hit of the inning, and second home run of the game. Quintero gave up another home run, by Vargas, in the eighth inning.

The Bravos trailed 15-6 going into the bottom of the eighth, but they nearly got back into it. The got a three-run home run by LF Felix Pie (his second home run of the game). The Bravos loaded the bases on a walk, a single by 2B Brandon Macias, and another walk. However, pinch-hitter Luis Medina struck out to end the inning and the scoring.

The Rieleros opened the scoring with an RBI single by Soto in the top of the first inning. The Rieleros answered with a solo home run by Pie in the bottom of the second. A two-run home run by Wing gave the Rieleros a 3-1 lead after 2 ½ innings. The Bravos took a 5-3 lead with a two-run home run by CF Cedric Hunter and a two-RBI single by C Isidro Pina. They made it 6-3 when 1B Eduardo Arredondo scored on a ground out by Pie in the bottom of the fourth. Wing hit an RBI double in the top of the fifth (Hunter lost it in the sun) to make it 6-4. Hunter hit a triple with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, and two walks loaded the bases, but the inning ended with a strikeout by DH Matt Clark.

Aguascalientes 3B Michael Wing

Wing finished 4-for-4 with two home runs, a double, five RBI, and four runs scored. Saul Soto went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI. Hunter went 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple, and two RBI for the Bravos. The Bravos left 14 runners on base.

Hector Silvestre, who pitched the sixth inning, got the win. Mendoza got the loss.

During the past off-season, the Mexican League decided to shut down both of these teams.However, intervention by the President of Mexico kept them alive. The Bravos added a new ownership partner, Grupo Multimedios.

Vargas (Ventura, CA) was in the White Sox organization 2008-10. Pedroza (Covina, CA) played college ball for Cal State Fullerton, was in the Cardinals organization 2013-15. Wing (Upland, CA) was in the Angels and Padres organizations 2007-13. Silvestre (San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic) was in the Nationals organization 2011-17.

Amezcua (Bellflower, CA) was drafted by the Reds in the seventh round in 2010; he was in the Reds organization through 2014. Clark (West Covina, CA) played college ball at LSU, was drafted in the 12th round by the Padres in 2008. He was also in the Mets, Brewers, and Cubs organizations. Pie (La Romana, Dominican Republic) played six seasons in the Major Leagues with the Cubs, Orioles, and Pirates. His career average was .246, and he hit 17 home runs.  Hunter (Decatur, GA) was drafted in the third round of the 2006 draft by the Padres. He played a total of 19 games for the Padres and Phillies. Macias (Flagstaff, AZ) played college ball at Kansas, spent six seasons in the Brewers organization.

RANGERS PURCHASE TIJUANA PITCHING PROSPECT SERRANO

Florencio Serrano signs with Rangers

The Texas Rangers have bought the contract of 19-year-old pitcher Florencio Serrano, a product of the Tijuana Toros Academy.  According to the Hitazo website, the March 14 deal between the two franchises marks the first between Major League Baseball and a Mexican League franchise after MLB lifted a ban on signing Mexican prospects until a new agreement was hammered out earlier this year between the two organizations.

While he goes to the Rangers organization via an Mexican League club, the transaction marks a homecoming of sorts for the 6'1" right-hander, who was born in Corpus Christi and played high school ball in Texas as a freshman prior to his 2016 arrival at the Tijuana academy at 16.  The LonestarBall site reports that Serrano agreed to a deal with the Chicago Cubs one year later for a $1.2 million signing bonus (with the Toros getting $900,000 of that), but MLB later voided the contract after learning that Serrano received more than the stated amount and violating international pool money rules.  He's said to have been rated as Baseball America's 29th best prospect that year.

This time, the contract with the Rangers is reportedly worth $850,000.  As per the new pact between MLB and the LMB, Serrano will receive 100 percent of the purchase price directly from the Rangers, while the Toros will get 35 percent of that as a commission.  Serrano, whose fastball touches 95 miles per hour, is expected to be assigned to one of Texas' lower minor league affiliates pending his passing a physical exam, perhaps the Rangers' Arizona Rookie League team but more likely their Class A Northwest League affiliate in Spokane.

TJ tops Rangers, 8-7, for fifth straight win vs. MLB teams

Exhibition games.  While some folks will follow them closely to try getting a handle on the chance of success for this team or that player, they're largely (and correctly) seen as little more than established veterans rounding into shape for the upcoming regular season, prospects trying to impress the coaches and front offices as managers try to determine who'll be able to help his team the most while figuring out their 25-man roster.  Even so, it's pretty hard to look at what the Mexican League's Tijuana Toros have done on the field this month playing against Major League Baseball teams while training in Tucson, Arizona and not be impressed.

The Toros are coming off a 2016 campaign during which they rose from their third-place finish in the Northern Division standings to reach the championship series before losing to Puebla in six games.  Tijuana was expected to be one of the favorites in the LMB North in 2017, but it's hard to imagine even manager Pedro Mere expected his team to reel off five straight wins against MLB teams during the preseason amid an overall seven-game winning skein, including Sunday's 8-7 triumph over Texas in ten innings at the Rangers' spring training home in Surprise.

The Rangers took an early lead in Sunday's contest when Frandy De La Rosa launched a three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning off Tijuana starter Mark Serrano, a former Reds and Diamondbacks minor leaguer. Chris Valencia's two-run single to left in the top of the third closed Tijuana's deficit to one run.  Texas prospect Luis La O, who compiled a career .329 average in the Cuban National Series before signing with the Rangers in January, punched a two-run single in the bottom of the fifth to stretch the Rangers' advantage to 5-2, but the Toros fought back with four runs in the top of the eighth (including a Valencia two-run double) to take the lead.

Texas score twice more in the bottom of the frame to regain the advantage, which held through the top of the ninth, but the two teams agreed to an elongated game so players could get a little more work in, which gave the Toros one more chance in the top of the tenth that they took full advantage of.  After Isaac Rodriguez got on board by singling off Rangers reliever Ariel Jurado, former Arizona State catcher R.J. Ybarra (pictured) socked a two-run roundtripper to give Tijuana an 8-7 lead and Toros reliever Jason Urqiudez shut out the Rangers in the bottom of the tenth to close out the win.

The victory gives the Toros an 8-1 preseason record, including three wins over the Rangers, two against Korea's NC Dinos (who are also training under Arizona skies) and single wins versus the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers.  Tijuana clobbered the Dodgers, 6-1, Friday in Glendale as first baseman Cyle Hankerd swatted a two-run longball to give the Toros a fourth-inning lead they would open further as the game progressed.  The only TJ exhibition loss was a 7-4 defeat at the hands of the Oakland A's on March 8 in Mesa.  The Toros have two more preseason games scheduled against big league teams this week when they take on the world champion Chicago Cubs in Mesa Wednesday before playing the Cincinnati Reds Friday in Goodyear.  It should be noted that Tijuana's success has come against teams in minor league camps (as opposed to the 40-man rosters on the big league squads) and most opposing players are ticketed for AAA and AA affiliates, but the Toros ARE defeating opponents representing MLB teams and that is also worthy of mention when they represent MiLB's lone sanctioned foreign league.

In another development for the Toros, infielder Alex Liddi has joined the team after playing for Italy in the World Baseball Classic, hitting .250 with two homers and four RBIs in four games.  The 6'4", 225-pound former Seattle Mariner, who actually played 33 games at second base for AA Northwest Arkansas in 2015 (could you imagine breaking up a double play sliding into someone that size?), played last summer with the Quintana Roo Tigres and hit .281 with 23 homers and 91 RBIs.  Liddi was the 2009 California League MVP and played in three Futures Games as a Seattle farmhand and spent parts of three seasons with the Mariners between 2011 and 2013, batting .208 with six homers and 16 RBIs over 61 games playing first base, third base and left field.

2015-16 BBM Winter Awards: Most Valuable Player

Although the Obregon Yaquis were unable to make it past the second round of the Mexican Pacific League playoffs this winter, losing in seven games to Mazatlan in their hard-fought semifinal series after losing the first two games at Estadio Tomas Gaytan (neither team would win a home game in that set), they did turn in the best overall regular season record in the circuit at 39-29, just missing the top postseason seed by a half-point to Mexicali.  That they were able to finish as well as they did despite mediocre batting and pitching means some players had to rise to the occasion when the occasion called for it, and few did it as well as Yaquis third baseman Christian Villanueva, our BBM Winter Award winner for Most Valuable Player.

The Guadalajara native finished in the LMP's Top Ten in ten different offensive categories in 2015-16, coming in sixth in the MexPac with a .322 average, tied for seventh in homers with 9, fifth in RBI's with 38, second to Mazatlan's Jeremias Pineda with 43 runs scored, second to Jose Amador with a .434 on-base percentage and third behind both Amadors in OPS at .914.  He hit better on the the road, knocking pitchers around for a .339 average with seven homers away from home while batting .302 at Tomas Gaytan.

More to the point, he was the linchpin of a lineup that had plenty of holes in it, thus seeing fewer hittable pitches as opposing pitchers were willing to nibble the corners with him and take their chances with the rest of the Yaquis order, yet still collecting timely hits throughout the campaign.  He spent 29 games at third base, fielding 82 of 87 chances cleanly for a .943 average and taking part in eight double plays from the hot corner, not Brooks Robinson territory but not the second coming of Hector Lopez either. In a season that saw no clear standout performances, Villanueva gets the slight nod for our LMP MVP.

The 24-year-old Villanueva was signed as a free agent by Texas in August 2008 and spent four years in the Rangers system before moving to the Cubs organization in mid-2012 in a trade that sent pitcher Ryan Dempster to Arlington.  Ranked eighth among prospects in the Cubbies minors heading into the 2013 season, Villanueva hit .261 with 19 homers and 72 RBI's at AA Tennessee that year but suffered a downturn in 2014 by batting a combined .230 with 10 roundtrippers between the Smokies and AAA Iowa.  He reversed his fortunes somewhat last summer by cracking 18 homers with 88 ribbies in Des Moines to go with a .259 average.  In all, Villanueva has averaged 16 homers and 75 RBI's over the past five minor league seasons and while he has zero chance of unseating Kris Bryant in Wrigley Field, he's on Chicago's 40-man roster and will challenge former Atlanta third sacker Tommy La Stella for the backup role.

This winter was his fourth in the MexPac, all with Obregon, and clearly his best.

LMB teams to train in Tucson, free exhibitions set

Although Tucson, Arizona has been without its own professional baseball team since the San Diego Padres moved their AAA Pacific Coast League affiliate to El Paso after the 2013 season, that doesn't mean the city of 528,000 has been devoid of the game itself.  Quite the opposite, in fact. The Tucson Invitational Games have become a prominent February and March destination for small college baseball teams from across the country, often with 18 games played daily as eighty schools will play there this year.  More proof of how baseball in Tucson has evolved after the PCL's departure will be on display next month when three Mexican League teams hold their training camps at the Kino Sports Complex, which also hosts the TIG.

The Tijuana Toros will arrive for a 30-day stretch on Friday, February 26 while the Veracruz Rojo Aguilas and Puebla Pericos will come to town for their own month-long stays on Tuesday, March 1. According to complex events manager Sallyann Wassmuth, two exhibition games have been scheduled at 11,000-seat Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium (formerly known as Tucson Electric Park): The Toros will welcome the German National Team on Wednesday, March 9 for a tuneup prior to the World Baseball Classic qualifier in Mexicali, followed by a contest between the Toros and the Texas Rangers AAA squad three days later.  Both contests are scheduled for 6PM Mountain Time.

Pima County Stadium District director Maureen "Reenie" Ochoa, who oversees the 155-acre complex, says, "We are most delighted to host our visitors from Mexico at the Kino Sports Complex for the Mexican Baseball League training camps and will be encouraging the many residents of Pima County to stop by the ballpark to watch some very fine players and teams in action.  Baseball is alive and well at the Kino Sports Complex."  Ochoa adds that given the uncertainty regarding several aspects of the two games, "we are going to open the gates for anyone who wishes to enjoy a nice day or evening at the ballpark."

Besides the ballpark, the Kino complex (named after Italian Jesuit priest Eusebio Kino, who established 24 missions between Sonora and Arizona at the dawn of the 18th century) includes seven full-sized practice baseball fields, two practice infields and numerous batting cages in addition to several soccer fields and four clubhouses.

This will not be the first time in Tucson for Mexican baseball teams.  The same three teams coming this year were joined by the Campeche Piratas last year while the fall Mexican Baseball Fiesta involving Mexican Pacific League teams playing preseason games originated in Tucson in 2011 and is now held in four cities across the American southwest every October.  The result has been the establishment of a beachhead of sorts for Mexican baseball in Tucson, whose metro population of just over a million people includes over 350,000 residents of Hispanic heritage.

Although pro baseball in Tucson dates to 1915, the sport has had a somewhat spotty history there.  Tucson usually had a franchise in the Class D Arizona-Texas and Arizona-Mexico leagues between 1928 and 1958, when the widespread contraction plaguing minor leagues at the time finished off the circuit.  After an absence of ten years, the AAA Pacific Coast League placed a team at Hi Corbett Field in 1969.  The PCL remained in town for four decades until the team moved to Reno following the 2008 season.

After a pair of disastrous seasons in the independent Golden League, Tucson was back in the PCL in 2011 when San Diego moved their displaced Portland affiliate to Optics Valley for three lame-duck summers before resettling (again) their AAA club in El Paso.  The Padres averaged 3,145 fans per game in 2013, their last year in Arizona.  The city was also a MLB spring training site for decades and has hosted teams in both the Arizona Rookie League and Arizona Fall League.

RANGERS, GIANTS EYEING LIGA ROOKIE OF YEAR VELAZQUEZ

The 2010 Mexican League Rookie of the Year is on the radar of two major league organizations. Hector Velazquez threw 25 pitches for scouts from the Texas Rangers on September 14 while attending training camp for the Obregon Yaquis, for whom Velazquez is slated to pitch this winter. The San Francisco Giants are also said to be interested in the 22-year-old right-hander from Sonora.

Velazquez began the Liga season in March as a reliever for the Campeche Piratas, but joined the starting rotation as the season progressed. He finished with a 6-4 record and came in second to Chihuahua’s Mac Suzuki with a 2.89 ERA and losing just two of his last nine starts.

After his workout for the Rangers, Velazquez said, “I felt well…during the session I worked straight, speed to change to slider to curve.” He added, “What follows is to give the maximum this winter and see if there is an invitation to a major league camp next year.”