myworldofbaseball

The National League list is pretty similar to the list from last year. Only Juan Soto graduated to the major leagues. The last three players from the top ten dropped out, though Jorge Guzman was close. Adbert Alzolay was limited by arm injuries and Jhailyn Ortiz struggled to make contact. That left room for four new additions.

1. Fernando Tatis SS (Padres) - He replaced Victor Robles, who appeared atop this list last year. Tatis showed the tools he could play shortstop defensively with a strong arm and good range. He needs to show a little more consistency with his fielding, committing 12 errors in 83 games at shortstop. His bat should be productive, with the power to hit 20 plus homeruns. While he hit .288 in AA he needs to make better contact (109 whiffs in 88 games) if he hopes to hit for average in the major leagues. A broken left thumb in late July ended his season early, limiting him to 88 games. Expect him to make his major league debut by mid-season next year. He should make a bigger impact in the major leagues than his father, Fernando Sr.

2. Victor Robles OF (Nationals) - If not for an elbow injury early in the season he may not have been on this list. When the Nationals were short of outfielders he was on the disabled list. Juan Soto was called up and Robles lost out on an opportunity. Victor got a major league opportunity later in the year and acquitted himself well, hitting .288 with three homeruns for a .525 slugging average. The five tool player has not shown the power yet in the minor leagues but it should arrive making him a 30/30 player. His routes in center need work but his speed makes up for mistakes. His arm is also super sonic. Expect him to be the Nationals centerfielder breaking camp.

3. Sixto Sanchez RHP (Marlins) - The Phillies traded Sixto to acquire J.T. Realmuto. Jorge Guzman can still hit triple digits more consistently than Sixto, but Sixto has a lot more command of where his fastball is crossing the plate. Myworld would expect more K’s with his velocity, striking out just 45 in 46.2 innings. A little more improvement with his secondary pitches (curve and change) would make him an ace in the rotation. The one area of concern is his small 6′0″ stature, but he has a strong build. Elbow issues limited him to just 8 starts last year. The Marlins will probable have him start in High A to test his arm health and promote him to AA by mid-season where he will join Guzman to make for an electrifying rotation.

4. Francisco Mejia C (Padres) - Last year Mejia was on the American League list. Few catchers have a stronger arm. His other defensive tools have been holding him back. Balls have a tendency to visit the back stop when Mejia is behind the plate. Last year the Indians put him in the outfield where his lack of speed makes him a defensive liability. Because his bat is so potent, with the ability to hit for average and power, the Padres may not have the patience to wait for Mejia to develop his defensive tools behind the plate. Last year they used him extensively behind the plate, but they have one of the better defensive catchers, Austin Hedges starting for the major league club.

5. Alex Reyes RHP (Cardinals) - His time will come. His major league debut was supposed to have occurred three years ago. Suspensions and injuries have prevented him from seeing significant major league time. With his lack of innings the Cardinals may use him out of the bullpen this year to prevent his arm from eating up too many innings. He did have a fastball that sat in the upper 90s. Whether that can continue over sustained time after Tommy John surgery is open to question. He does have three pitches to be an effective starter, but command of those pitches has always been a challenge. Expect him to be used by the Cardinals out of the bullpen to start the season. By the end of the season if the Cardinals need a starter they may ease him in.

6. Adonis Medina RHP (Phillies) - The Phillies would have preferred to make Medina the pitcher sent to the Marlins in the Realmuto trade. Medina does not throw as hard as Sixto Sanchez, but he can get it up to the mid-90s, sitting comfortably at the higher ends of the low 90s. His command is better than Sanchez, with a slider/change combination to complement his fastball. A .245 opposition average was a little more than what the Phillies would have liked for a pitcher with his explosive stuff. He will start next year in AA and could get a glimpse of the major leagues before the season ends.

7. Christian Pache OF (Braves) - Christian is a potential gold glove centerfielder. Currently Ender Inciarte blocks his major league path but a couple years of minor league seasoning will prepare him best. His speed allows him to cover a lot of ground in centerfield, but it is absent for stealing bases (7). There is some raw power in his bat, but that has yet to really show itself in games. Last year he slugged 8 homeruns in the Florida State League for a .431 slugging percentage. Taking a few more walks would enhance his offensive game, making him a top of the lineup hitter.

8. Luis Garcia SS/2B (Nationals) - Trea Turner blocks his path at shortstop. The tools are there for him to play the position with a strong arm and good range. Last year he reached High A so the Nationals have some time before deciding his position. A contact hitter whose power currently is limited to the gaps. As he matures more power could come. He seemed to handle High A pretty well last year in a 49 game performance so the Nationals could bump him to AA where he would be one of the youngest players.

9. Sandy Alcantara RHP (Marlins) - Sandy has a wicked fastball that can hit the mid-90s. He made his Marlins major league debut with six effective starts, limiting the major leaguers to a .214 average. The Marlins acquired him from the Cardinals for Marcell Ozuna. The secondary pitches are there to make him a starter. The command of those pitches still need work. That may explain his low strikeout to innings pitch ratio (96 whiffs in 127 innings). With the Marlins he walked 23 hitters in just 34 innings. A good spring could have him make the Marlins starting rotation out of spring training.

10. O’Neil Cruz SS/OF (Pirates) - At 6′6″ he could become the tallest shortstop in the major leagues. Many feel that because of that height he could move to the outfield or first base. The bat will play anywhere. That height packages big time power, with the potential for over 30 plus homeruns per year once he fills out. If shortstop does not work out he carries an arm suitable for right field. Last year he played 103 games at Low A. Expect him to start the season at High A

It is tough to come up with an All Star team of Series del Caribe players when you did not actually watch them play. Most of this assessment will be based on stats and what the player accomplished in the box score. Below are the players that made myworld’s All Star Series del Caribe Team.

Catcher - Wilken Castillo (Dominican Republic) .571 average, 4 RBIs and a 1.557 OPS

First Base - Victor Mendoza (Mexico) .375 average, .563 slugging, 5 RBIs with one homerun and a .938 OPS

Second Base - Elmer Reyes (Panama) .368 average, .632 slugging, 1.000 OPS, 5 RBIs with one homerun

Shortstop - Javy Guerra (Panama) .389 average, .722 slugging, 3 doubles and one homerun, 3 RBIs and 1.111 OPS

Third Base - David Vidal (Puerto Rico) .385 average, .529 OBA, .991 OPS

Utility - Allen Cordoba (Panama) .389 average and .450 OBA

Outfield - Alfredo Despaigne (Cuba) - .350 average, 5 RBIs
Outfield - Jilton Calderon (Panama) - .273 average, .455 slugging
Outfield - Yuniesky Larduet (Cuba) - .273 average, 4 runs scored

Starting Pitcher - Harold Arauz (Panama) 1-0, 0.90 ERA, 10 innings pitched

Starting Pitcher - Lazaro Blanco (Cuba) 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 12 innings pitched

Starting Pitcher - Nestor Cortes (Dominican Republic), 1-0, 1.80 ERA 5 innings pitched, one hit allowed

Starting Pitcher - Nestor Molina (Venezuela) 1-0, 0,00 5 innings pitched

Starting Pitcher - Luis Mateo (Panama) 0-0, 0.00, 7 innings pitched

Relief - Manny Corpas (Panama) 0-0, 2.25, 4 saves

Relief - Jumbo Diaz (Dominican Republic) 1-0, 0.00, 2 saves

Relief - Raidel Martinez (Cuba) 0-0, 0.00, 2 saves

Relief - Sergio Romo (Mexico) 1-0, 0.00

The Dominicans stayed alive by sending the Panamanians to their first defeat 5-3. Wilkin Castillo had the big bat for the Dominicans with two doubles. His first drove in the Dominicans first run in the fourth. His second double in the sixth drove in three runs to give the Dominicans a 4-2 lead. He finished the day with three hits, upping his Series del Caribe average to .571.

Elmer Reyes hit a solo homer for Panama in the fourth. He also drove in a run with a ground out in the first inning. The two RBIs gave Panama a quick 2-0 lead. Allen Cordoba had three hits for Panama and drove in the third run in the eighth.

Jumbo Diaz pitched a perfect ninth inning to pick up his second save of the tournament. The 300 pounder has been responsible for each of the three Dominican wins with two saves and one victory. There is a reason for him to be called Jumbo. His fastball also comes in at the high 90s, or used to. Myworld has not seen him pitch in some time.

Mexico kept their hopes alive with a 9-4 drubbing of Venezuela. Victor Mendoza crammed in four hits and drove in four runs. He hit a big three run homer in the sixth to turn a 5-4 lead into a rout. Rafael Martin got the win with 2.1 innings of shutout relief, giving up just one hit and striking out three.

Two big games being played today to close out the pool play. If Venezuela can beat Cuba they clinch their pool. If not Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela will be all tied at 2-2 and it will go to a tie breaker. Panama needs to beat the winless Puerto Rican team to tie the Dominicans. A loss will send them to second. Is this enough to motivate the Puerto Ricans to play? At least Cuba still has a horse in this race. Run differential will be the tie breaking formulae in both pools.

Junior Lake hit a walk off single in the bottom of the ninth to lead the Dominican Republic to a 5-4 win over Puerto Rico. For Puerto Rico they dropped to 0-3 ending any hope they would win a third consecutive Series del Caribe championship. The Dominican Republic improved to 2-1 but must beat Panama to stay alive for the championship match.

Anuery Taveras had tied the game for the Dominican Republic in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single. Jumbo Diaz got the win by pitching a scoreless ninth, though he did put two runners on with a walk and single. Diego Goris drove in the first Dominican run leading off the fourth with a homerun.

Puerto Rico had opportunities to score but stranded 14 runners on base. They left two runners on in the first, fourth, eighth and ninth and left the bases loaded in the fifth. They can still be spoilers with their final game against Panama.

The day game went 11 innings with Mexico virtually eliminating Cuba 3-2. In their previous loss the Cubans lost when the leadoff batter got on via an error. The misplays continued after Cuban native Dariel Alvarez struck out but reached first when the ball got past the catcher. Ramon Rios drove in Alvarez with a single.

Cuba went out meekly in the bottom of the 11th. They have had trouble generating any offense, collecting only six hits in 11 innings against the Mexican pitchers. The only two runs they scored were in the first inning on a Frederich Cepeda double and an Alfredo Despaigne double. Despaigne has driven in five of the six runs the Cubans have scored.

Mexico scored their first run on a wild pitch in the first inning. In the sixth Victor Mendoza tied the game with an RBI single. Sergio Romo retired all eight hitters he faced to get the victory, three of them by strikeouts.

For Cuba Yordanis Samon got three of the six hits for Cuba but they did not result in any runs.

The big game will pit Dominican Republic against Panama. A win by Panama would clinch their spot in the finals. Their final match is against winless Puerto Rico who they had beaten earlier. A loss to Puerto Rico would still leave them 3-1 with two victories against the Dominican Republic should they win today.

Venezuela can clinch their spot in the championship with a win over Mexico today. A loss to Mexico could result in a three way tie should Cuba beat Venezuela on the final day.

The Series del Caribe has considered expanding the tournament to other countries, but one of the concerns is these other countries (Panama, Colombia and Nicaragua) would not be competitive. Panama proved this notion not so true with their 4-2 upset of the Dominican Republic last night, a day after Panama native and Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera threw out the first pitch to open the tournament. The loss dropped the Dominicans to 1-1 while Panama sits atop their division at 1-0.

Panama starter Harold Arauz shutout the Dominican bats for the first five innings, allowing just three hits. The 23 year old Panama native played for Toros del Este in the Dominican League this past winter. He signed a minor league free agent contract with the St. Louis Cardinals for 2019.

Panama scored first in the second inning on a homerun from Padres shortstop prospect Javy Guerra. He scored the second run in the fourth after reaching on a single and scoring on a sacrifice fly hit by Jonathan Galvez.

When Panama took out Arauz the Dominican bats were relieved. In the top of the sixth Severino Gonzalez put two runners on via a walk and an infield single. Edwin Espinal drove them both in with a single to tie the game at 2-2. The Dominicans appeared to have woken from their slumber.

The Panama bullpen, especially the smallish 5′9″ Andy Otero made sure that did not happen. Otero shut down the Dominican bats for two innings. That gave the Panama bats another opportunity to take the lead. A hit by pitch, bunt and wild pitch by Jhan Marinez put a runner on third with just one out. Rodrigo Orozco grounded a single up the middle to break a 2-2 tie. Gerald Chin added another RBI single to put up an insurance run and give Panama a 4-2 lead.

Manny Corpas came on to pitch a perfect ninth inning to complete the upset.

Cuba chose not to play in the port tournament in the Netherlands this July because they stated they felt they could not field a competitive team. For their opener in the Series del Caribe they relied on the seven shutout innings from veteran Lazaro Blanco to defeat Mexico 3-1. For Mexico it was their second loss of the tournament, diminishing any chances they have for appearing in the final.

Cuban veteran Alfredo Despaigne drove in all three runs for Cuba. He had a two run single in the third and an RBI single in the fifth. Despaigne is one of the few Cuban superstars who did not defect to the major leagues. He was a teammate of Yoenis Cespedes in Cuba and considered the better player with more power than Cespedes. His defense in left field is a bit suspect. At 32 years of age he may be too late for the major leagues, though he is now playing in the NPB in Japan.

Mexico rallied in the ninth scraping together three hits to score one run. They had the go ahead run at the plate but Agustin Murillo flied out to right to end the game. Cuban Dariel Alvarez was playing for Mexico.

A lot of new teams representing their country in the Series del Caribe. Las Tunas is representing Cuba for the first time. The same applies to Charros de Jalisco, who is representing Mexico for the first time. Panama is playing for the first time since prior to 1960 when they were one of the regulars participating in the tournament. Their only championship is 1950. Estrellas Orientales last represented the Dominican Republic way back in 1968. Lara was supposed to host the tournament but the violence there forced the organizers to move the games to Panama. Lara last represented Venezuela in 2001. Only Santurce is a regular in these competitions, last representing Puerto Rico in 2016.

Because major league spring training is beginning next week the organizers did not have much time to hold the tournament. With six teams in the tournament the traditional pool of everyone playing each other was scraped. The six teams are broken out into three team pools with the top team in each pool slated to play each other in the championship. The double headers will be played at Rod Carew stadium.

The opening salvos began yesterday with the Dominican Republic shutting down two time defending champion Puerto Rico 3-1. Nestor Cortes restricted the Puerto Rican bats to just one hit in five innings. Three different relievers worked the final four innings and held the Puerto Rican bats hitless, with Jumbo Diaz pitching a perfect ninth, striking out two of the three hitters he faced.

With the score tied 1-1 in the top of the fifth Diego Goris drew a bases loaded walk to give the Dominicans the go ahead run. A wild pitch with a runner on third in the top of the ninth gave the Dominicans an insurance run. Meanwhile the Puerto Ricans could not buy a hit. Their only hit came in the fourth on a David Vidal RBI single, after a walk and hit by pitch put two runners on.

In the nightcap Venezuela trounced Mexico 5-1. Carlos Rivera went deep with a two run homer in the sixth, the first homerun in the tournament. Luis Jimenez drove in a run with a single in the fourth and then scored a run in the sixth. Another Nestor, this one Molina, worked five innings of four hit one run ball to get the win. The Venezuelan bullpen then limited Mexico to one hit in the final four innings.

Today Panama will make their debut against the Dominican Republic to show they belong in the Series del Caribe. The opener will see Cuba take on Mexico.

We begin our scan of the world identifying the top ten prospects from particular countries or areas. Some are much easier than others. The easiest is the Dominican Republic where prospects abound. We begin with those players in the American League.

Two prospects from last year’s list graduated. Willy Adames (4th) started for the Tampa Bay Rays. He should be the Rays starting shortstop for a number of years to come. The eighth ranked player was Miguel Andujar. He was second to the wonderman from Japan Shohei Ohtani in the Rookie of the year battle last year. There is some concern about his defense at third. When it was thought the Yankees would sign Manny Machado there were rumors Andujar would be traded. Those talks have quieted now.

Below is the list.

1. Vladimir Guerrero 3B (Toronto Blue Jays) - He was everyone’s minor league player of the year, replacing Eloy Jimenez who appeared on top of this list last year. The only down side to his year was his injury at mid season which influenced the Blue Jays not to call him up in September. That despite a .381 average through four different levels, 20 homeruns and an OPS of 1.073. There is no question that the bat will play. The big concern is whether his stocky build will eventually make Guerrero a liability at third. A move to first or DH would negate his fire power since players who can produce big time numbers play there. Based on ability alone he should break with the major league team out of spring training, but don’t be surprised if the Blue Jays hold him back for a month. Once called up the race for the Rookie of the Year award will begin. His father last year was voted to the Hall of Fame. Junior hopes to take a similar path in his baseball journey.

2. Wander Franco SS (Tampa Bay Rays) - Everyone is expecting him to be the breakout star for 2019, even though Wander kind of broke out last year with his .351 average in rookie ball. Only 19 to begin the 2019 season, this dude can hit for average and power. Last year his OPS was 1.005. His defense is not as strong as his offense and with Willy Adames, who appeared on this list last year, their current shortstop, a move to third may be likely. Fortunately the Rays have some time to watch him percolate up their minor league system. He could move quickly, beginning next year in the full season league at Low A with a promotion to High A if he continues to assault minor league pitching. Expect a major league arrival to be late in 2020.

3. Eloy Jimenez OF (Chicago White Sox) - The number one prospect from this list last year has not really dropped in talent. He has just been surpassed by two superstar prospects. Injuries have always cropped up through the season to prevent Eloy from putting up monster stats. Muscle pulls caused him to miss about a month of the 2018 season. Perhaps he is wound up a bit tight. The offense was there when he played, hitting .337 with 22 homeruns. His OPS fell just short of 1.000 (.961). Defensively, Eloy will be a liability, restricted to left field but possibly best used as a DH. The arm is not strong, the legs lack speed and his instincts for playing with the glove are lacking. Expect him to battle Guerrero for the rookie of the year award in 2019.

4. Jesus Sanchez OF (Tampa Bay Rays) - At this point there is a large drop off in talent, but Sanchez still would be considered a five tool player. He has the speed to play centerfield with the arm to move to right. His bat showed some pop in High A with a .462 slugging but that falls short of the three players above him. Jesus struggled a bit when promoted to AA hitting only .214. Despite his speed he has yet to achieve double digits in stolen bases. The expectation is he should hit 20 plus homeruns. If he can do that as a centerfielder that will be a big plus. As a rightfielder not so amazing. Expect Jesus to get another shot at AA with a mid-season promotion a possibility.

5. Jorge Mateo SS (Oakland Athletics) - Myworld loves his speed and quiet power potential. Sometimes that fascination with power gets Jorge in trouble. In 2017 he slugged 12 homeruns. Last year he dropped to three with a 29/139 walk to whiff ratio evidence of his impatience at the plate, dropping his average to .230. The stolen bases also do not come as frequently, with a high of 82 in 2015 dropping to 52 in 2017 and further dropping to 25 last year. There is also a quandary about the position Jorge will play. He appears to play a decent shortstop but the Athletics are deep there. Centerfield and second base are other possibilities. His ultimate role could be as a utility player. Expect Jorge to make his major league debut in 2019. Myworld still loves his tools.

6. Wander Javier SS (Minnesota Twins) - What are the odds of two Wanders appearing in the same list. The Twins shelled out $4 million to sign Javier in 2015. He may be another player wound up too tightly. Hamstring issues limited his playing time in 2015 and a torn labrum in his non-throwing soldier prevented him from playing in 2018. He is still a bit of a mystery. The injuries may have given Royce Lewis a head start at winning the shortstop job. The bat should contain enough pop to fit at third and his speed could make him an asset in centerfield. The Twins will keep him moving up the system at shortstop. Reps are what is needed most. Expect him to stay in extended spring training until the Twins are confident his shoulder is healthy.

7. Leody Taveras OF (Texas Rangers) - Leody may have the best glove among this group. His prowess in centerfield should result in numerous gold glove awards. The big concern among the Rangers is the bat may be a little light. Last year in High A he hit .246 with a .332 slugging average. This is consistent with his minor league career average entering the 2018 season (.257/.362). He is the cousin of Willy Taveras, another quality centerfielder who carried a light bat. At 6′2″ Leody needs to put on some muscle in his frame to assist him in driving pitches to the gaps. Last year just 28 of his 128 hits went for extra bases.

8. Julio Rodriguez OF (Seattle Mariners) - Julio was signed for $1.75 million in 2017. He made his professional debut last year, hitting .315 with a .525 slugging. His biggest tool is his potential for power. His lack of speed but a strong arm makes him a perfect fit for right field. The Mariners are in a rebuilding process so Julio should be an important piece in that transition. Expect him to begin the 2019 season in Low A.

9. Albert Abreu RHP (New York Yankees) - Finally a pitcher to fall in this group. Abreu has a juicy fastball that hits triple digits. A bad appendix delayed the start of his 2018 season and a tender elbow ended it earlier than he wanted. In between the numbers were not great (5.20 ERA). A lack of command puts him behind in the count too many times allowing the opposition to hit him at a decent .241 clip. He has four average to above average pitches to fit in a starting rotation, but if his command remains spotty his best use may be out of the bullpen. Abreu finished his 2018 season with five no hit innings in his only start in AA. That is where he will probably begin his 2019 season, with a callup to the bullpen happening when a need arises.

10. Seuly Matias OF (Kansas City Royals) - Seuly has an impressive power bat that slugged 31 homeruns last year. A 24/131 walk to whiff ratio depressed his batting average to .231. When you consider those homeruns came even after he missed the last month of the season because of a thumb injury makes his season incredibly impressive. He may have ended up winning the minor league homerun race, which was won by Peter Alonso with 36 homeruns if he could have stayed healthy. At 6′3″ with average speed and a plus arm makes him perfectly cloned for right field. He should start the 2019 season in High A. The higher up he advances the more adept pitchers will be to get him to chase pitches. If he hopes to achieve his potential he needs to improve his ability to make contact.

This year the Series del Caribe was supposed to be played in Barquiesimeto, Venezuela, the home of the Lara Cardenales. Because of the violence occurring there a number of teams were not willing to travel there and major league baseball warned minor leaguers to stay away. Mexico had bailed Venezuela out last year when political violence prevented that country from being the host but they were hesitant to do it again. So now it appears the games will be played in Panama at the Rod Carew stadium.

For Panama it allows one of their teams to participate in the Series del Caribe for the first time since the games reformed. Panama will be represented by Toros de Hererra. Other teams who have qualified are Las Tunas (Cuba), Estrellas Orientales (Dominican Republic), Cangrejeros de Santurce (Puerto Rico), Cardenales de Lara (Venezuela) and the winner of the series between the Charros de Jalisco or Yaquis de Ciudad Obregon.

The tournament will start Feb 4-10. Panama’s gain is Lara’s loss. It is the second straight year the tournament has had to leave Barquiesimeto because of the political violence there.

The Winter Leagues from Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Venezuela and Puerto Rico have finished their first round of playoffs. Below are the teams that have advanced to the second round.

Dominican Republic

The four teams advancing are Estrellas Orintales (29-21), Leones del Escogido (27-23), Tigres del Licey (27-23) and Toros del Este (25-25). These teams will play each other in pool play and the top two teams will play a best of seven to determine the Series del Caribe participant. At least that is how it worked last year. The two teams eliminated were the Aguilas Cibaenas (22-28) and the Gigantes del Cibao (20-30).

Mexico

The teams played two halves. They collected points based on their finish in the two halves. The Culiacan Tomateros won the first half and the Hermosillo Naranjeros won the second half. Based on the accumulated points from the two halves six teams will advance and pair off to play each other in a best of seven series. The three winners will advance and the top team from the three losers will also advance. The matchups are:

Los Mochis Caneros (28-30) vs Hermosillo Naranjeros (33-25)
Mazatlan Venados (27-31) vs Obregon Yaquis (30-26)
Jalisco Charros (28-29) vs Culiacan Tomateros (33-25)

Puerto Rico

Three teams advanced from Puerto Rico. They are the Indios de Mayaguez (21-14), Gigantes de Carolina (17-18) and Cangrejeros de Santurce (17-19). These three will play in a pool like round robin. The one team eliminated is Criollos de Caguas (16-20).

Venezuela

Six of the eight teams advanced to the second round of the playoffs where two teams will pair off in a best of seven. Those teams are Navegantes del Magallanes (36-27), Cardenales del Lara (35-28), Leones del Caracas (34-29), Tigres de Aragua (33-30), Bravos de Margarita (32-31), Caribes de Anzoátegui (31-32). The best of seven matchups pair:

Aragua vs Caracas
Margarita vs Lara
Caribes vs Magallanas

Cuba

Cuba has already whittled down to the last six teams. Four of those teams will advance. The six teams and their current records are Lenadores de Las Tunas (34-26), Gallos de Sancti Spiritus (32-28), Tigres de Ciego de Avila (31-29), Azucareros de Villa Clara (31-29), Leones de Industriales (30-30) and Cachorros de Holquin (22-38).

The top 12 teams from the Premier 12 will compete in November 2019 for two spots in the 2020 Olympics. The 12 teams will be broken out into groups of four similar to the World Baseball Classic. These games will be held November 2-8 in Mexico, Taiwan and Korea. Two teams from each of these these groups of four will advance to the finals in Tokyo. They will play the games November 11-16 in the Tokyo Dome and Chiba Marine Stadium in pool play. On November 17 the finals will be held with the top two teams playing against each other and the third and fourth place teams competing for the bronze. This could be rather anticlimactic since the top two teams have already qualified for the Olympics and third place only gets you a bronze medal. But athletes play for pride.

The 12 teams that are eligible to compete are (in order of ranking):

1) Japan, 2) United States, 3) Korea, 4) Taiwan, 5) Cuba, 6) Mexico, 7) Australia, Netherlands, 9) Venezuela, 10) Canada, 11) Puerto Rico, 12) Dominican Republic

Just missing from qualifying for the event are Panama, Colombia and Nicaragua, which finished 13-15 in the rankings.

Korea is the defending champions of the only Premier 12 to be played to date. The United States finished second and Japan third. The November time frame has been established to allow the countries to bring their top players to compete in this event. The professional leagues from Japan, United States, Taiwan and Korea will be over. Cuba will postpone their Nacional Series schedule as they do for the World Baseball Classic. It will be the best baseball has to offer outside of the World Baseball Classic.