myworldofbaseball

Japan has achieved the top rating in both men’s and women’s baseball. The United States is second in men and fifth in women. For men the United States team bypasses a number of tournaments such as the World Cup Under 23, and play amateurs in the Premier 12, which prevents them from accumulating the points that Japan earns. The United States women are hampered by the culture of forcing talented players to pursue softball, where it is a high school recognized sport, abandoning baseball. This eliminates talented female baseball players from continuing with the sport.

Below is the Top 12 Ranking for each gender.

Men’s Top 12

1. Japan (6,127 points)
2. United States (4,676)
3. Korea (4,622)
4. Taiwan (4,352)
5. Mexico (3,375)
6. Australia (3,249)
7. Netherlands (2,690)
8. Cuba (2,641)
9. Venezuela (2,624)
10. Dominican Republic (2,512)
11. Puerto Rico (2,013)
12. Canada (1,873)

The top 12 is significant since a team qualifies for the Premier 12 by being ranked in the top 12 for baseball.

The women’s top 12.

1. Japan (2,505 points)
2. Canada (1,947)
3. Taiwan (1,852)
4. Venezuela (1,736)
5. United States (1,524)
6. Australia (1,182)
7. Korea (955)
8. Cuba (947)
9. Dominican Republic (717)
10. Hong Kong (520)
11. Netherlands (500)
12. Puerto Rico (371)

In women’s softball the United States is ranked number one with Japan at number two. For the men in softball Japan is ranked number one. The United States is sixth, behind Argentina, New Zealand, Canada and Australia.

The Under 23 Baseball World Cup qualifying round will be held in Nicaragua and Honduras. Competing in the Nicaragua competition will be Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and the hosts Nicaragua. In Honduras, other than the hosts the competition will be Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala and Panama. Absent from the competition are the United States and Canada. Even Puerto Rico is absent in the tournament.

The Under 23 World Cup will be held October 2-11 in Mexico. Mexico are the defending champions having defeated Japan in 2018 when it was played in Colombia. Other countries who have qualified to play are Germany and Czech Republic (European qualifier), New Zealand (Oceania - Australia dropped out), Taiwan, Japan and China (Asia Qualifier), Korea (wild card selection) and Mexico as the host.

Honduras is an interesting country to choose to be a host for a baseball qualifier since baseball is not a big sport in that country. If you want to grow the game you have to expose the countries not usually exposed to baseball. Not sure why the United States and Canada chose not to participate but the major and minor league pipeline availability probably has something to do with that.

This is the first of our top prospect lists from each country or continent. The Dominican Republic has the most prospects in baseball so it is pretty easy creating a top ten list, so we break it off into the American League and National League. Other countries or continents require a deep dive into the minor leagues just to find players. Some countries may have less than ten players and if they are not included in a continent rating they will probably not be mentioned.

There were two successes among the Dominicans from last years list in the American League. The top prospect Vladimir Guerrero did not make the big splash as many expected, but he still earned the starting third base job for the Blue Jays. He had a decent year but may have been upstaged by rookie teammate Bo Bichette. Eloy Jimenez, the fourth rated prospect hit 31 homeruns and made an impact for the White Sox. One player who made the American League list (Jesus Sanchez) was traded to the National League. Wander Javier, Albert Abreu and Seuly Matias did not perform to expectations and were surpassed by newer prospects.

1. Wander Franco SS (Tampa Bay) - Like Guerrero on the list last year, Wander appears on many publications as the top prospect in baseball. Others who have appeared on the list include players like Jurickson Profar, Yoan Moncada and Bryan Harper. Franco plays a solid shortstop and can hit for average (.327) and power (.487). Even if he fills out and loses the range to play short his bat will play at third base. He has yet to play AA so the Rays have another year to decide what to do with him. They still have a couple cheap years of Willy Adames as their current shortstop, but once he reaches the age of arbitration they may look to trade him to make room for the cheaper and more productive Franco. Franco has hit over .300 at every level he has played and is expected to make his debut with the Rays sometime in 2021, depending on how Adames is taking to the shortstop position.

2. Julio Rodriguez OF (Seattle) - Last year Rodriguez was rated eighth. That was based on his 59 game debut in the Rookie League in 2018 where he hit .315 with a .526 slugging. The Mariners had forked over $1.75 million to sign him. He only elevated his stock after his 2019 season when he hit .326 with a .540 slugging, reaching High A as a 19 year old. His lack of speed will limit him to a corner, but he has the arm to play right. He could become the Mariners version of Juan Soto. If he takes the same path as Soto he will reach the Mariners next season, but expect him more in 2021.

3. Jasson Dominguez OF (New York) - Jasson is a mystery since he did not play last year. The Yankees signed him for $5.1 million. At 16 he still has a ways to go to reach Yankee Stadium. In the States he would still be eligible to play for the Junior Varsity baseball team in high school. Jasson carries all five tools, with the speed to play center and the power to bat in the middle of the order. If he should fill out the arm is strong enough for right field. Yankee fans will have to wait until 2023 before they will see him in the major leagues, but he could rise quickly.

4. Vidal Brujan 2B (Tampa Bay) - Vidal is more a speed guy. In the last two years he has stolen over 100 bases. Coming into the 2019 season he carried a .300 career average, but last year he hit .277. There is not a lot of power in his bat and it would be better if he could fit at short. With Adames and Franco playing there and a fairly average arm his best fit may be second base. Franco would bat in the middle of the lineup while Brujan would bat leadoff. Since he played 55 games in AA he could be ready to make his Rays debut sometime late in the 2020 season.

5. Noelvi Marti SS (Seattle) - Marte has not yet played state side. The Mariners signed him in 2018 for $1.55 million. Last year he played in the Dominican Summer League and hit .309 with 9 homeruns and a .511 slugging percentage. He also has the speed to steal bases, pilfering 17 last year. His arm is strong enough to fit at short but a lot will depend on how is body fills out. The power is there where a move to third would fit. Noelvi is still probably four to five years away from playing in the major leagues, so Mariners brass will have plenty of time to evaluate him to determine his ultimate position.

6. Deivi Garcia RHP (New York) - One Yankee pitcher dropped from the list (Albert Abreu) and two rise from the lower levels of the minor leagues to replace him. Garcia has a lights out arm that can throw a fastball in the mid-90s. He also has the finesse to buckle knees with his curve ball. What he lacks is the height (5′9″) that many like to see in a righthander. Last year he rose three levels, finishing with six starts in AAA while striking out 165 hitters in just 111 innings and limiting the opposition to a .231 average. He was hit a little harder in AAA (.262) and that could be a problem as he reaches the major leagues. If the Yankees have the need for bullpen or starting pitching help in 2020 expect Garcia to be one of the first pitchers to be considered for a promotion.

7. Luis Gil RHP (New York) - His 6′3″ height is more what scouts look for in a starting pitcher. Gil was not signed by the Yankees but acquired from the Twins in 2018 for Jake Cave. The Twins only paid $90,000 to sign him. Since signing in 2014 Gil had yet to pitch in the full season leagues, missing all of the 2016 season after shoulder surgery. Last year he jumped to the Florida State League, dominating at the Low A level (2.39 ERA with 112 whiffs in 83 innings). His fastball can hit triple digits, but it sits in the mid-90s range. Throwing strikes can be a bit of an issue for Gil. He also needs to find a third pitch to stay in the rotation. Luis will start the season in the Florida State League and if he does well he could see the Yankee bullpen in 2022.

8. Leody Taveras OF (Texas) - He is a stellar defensive player who is normally one of the youngest players at the level he has played. If he can carry a decent bat he could win gold gloves in centerfield. He came into the 2019 season with a .253 minor league career average but last year broke out to hit .279 average, good enough to get a promotion to AA. Last year he also elevated his stolen base game, stealing a career high 32 bases. There will not be a lot of power in the bat so he will need to rely on his glove and legs to win a major league job. If that happens he should see the Rangers as a September callup in 2020.

9. Jorge Mateo SS/OF (Oakland) - Myworld cannot give up on his potential. He shows some sneaky power, good enough to hit 19 homeruns last year and his legs can cover a lot of ground if the Athletics decide to move him to centerfield. He no longer appears to be the 50 stolen base threat he was early in his career, but he can still get over 20. Last year he was one homerun shy of being 20/20. Making contact can still be a challenge and a 29/145 walk to whiff ratio may lead to a number of extended slumps. The Yankees made him part of the Sonny Gray trade in 2017. Next year he could make the Athletics as a utility player, fitting in centerfield and the middle infield positions. The recent acquisition of Tony Kemp seems to have hurt his cause in the short run, but he has too many tools not to be given the opportunity.

10. Jose Soriano RHP (Los Angeles) - He only signed for $70,000 in 2016, at 18 fairly old for a Dominican. He sprouted to 6′3″ and last year sprayed his fastball to the plate into the high 90s, a significant increase from last year. He got more swings and misses, finishing with more than a strikeout per inning for the first time in his career. In Low A he limited the opposition to a .197 average. The big area of concern is his inability to find the strike zone. He normally goes above 4.5 walks per nine innings. Until he finds more consistency finding the strike zone his major league debut could be delayed, but expect it to happen sometime in 2021.

The Dominican League is now down to the four team round robin format to determine the Series del Caribe representative. Toros del Este finished the season with a 12 game winning streak to blow away their competitors. The other three teams playing in the round robin are the Licey Tigers, Aguilas Eagles and the Escogido Lions. Below are the names of the players who were impact players for their respective teams.

Toros del Este (34-16)

Peter O’Brien - He leads the Dominican League in homeruns with 9 and RBIs with 35. A .243 batting average will prevent him from winning the Triple Crown. His 36 walks and 58 strikeouts are also tops in the Dominican League. He will be turning 30 in 2020 so perhaps a foreign league will show some interest in the slugger, though most of the teams have signed their quota of players.

Jordany Valdespin - His five homeruns put him third in the league but his .340 average is second. He has more walks than whiffs (20/18) but at 33 his playing days in the minor leagues may be done.

Yamaico Navarro - He is tied with Jordany for third in homeruns with 5 giving the Toros three of the top four power hitters in the Dominican. Last year the 33 year old spent his summers playing baseball in the Mexican summer league.

Jorge Mateo - He is at least a prospect but he is struggling with a .197 average, but still getting regular playing time. The right handed hitter is hitting only .138 against lefthanded pitching.

Carlos Hernandez - At 6-1, his six wins are tops in the league. He is also second in ERA with a 1.94 in nine starts. He is also a veteran pitcher in the Mexican League.

Raul Valdes - When you play on a winning team you get a lot of wins as a starting pitcher. Raul is second in the league in wins with 5 against two losses and his 2.51 ERA is fifth in the league. The Cuban is also a veteran of the Mexican Summer Leagues. Two of his last four starts have been seven inning shutouts.

Ramon Ramirez - With all those wins someone has to pick up some saves. Ramon is their top closer with 10 saves, putting him second in the League. He is 2-1, 2.20 and at 39 last saw time pitching in the summer in the United States was 2016.

Tigres del Licey (27-23)

Socrates Brito - He is making waves this winter, enough for the Pirates to sign him. His 30 runs scored is just second to Peter O’Brien and he is hitting .296. His ten doubles are second in the league and his four triples are first. The 28 year old may still have some juice left in him. A propensity for injury early in his career closed a window on his prospect status.

Jorge Bonafacio - He is the big RBI bat for Licey with 23. He has also slugged four homeruns and is batting .330. His .938 OPS would be tops in the Dominican League if he had enough at bats. Jorge will try to get an opportunity in the Detroit outfield next year. His 13 doubles are tops in the Dominican.

Cesar Valdes - His 1.11 ERA is the league leader. He shows some excellent command with a 4/40 walk to whiff rate. Four of his last six starts he did not allow an earned run, including a 9 inning five hit shutout. Cesar pitches in the Mexican League and at 35 in March may be too old to garner any major league interest.

Jairo Asencio - His 11 saves are tops in the Dominican League. He is 1-2 with a 3.12, but has not given up an earned run in his last six appearances, picking up three saves. Jairo pitches in the Mexican Summer League.

Aguilas Cibaenas (24-26)

John Nogowski - He has been their most consistent hitter with his .316 average, four homeruns and 22 RBIs. The slugger hasn’t played with the team since November 23rd so they may have to play the round robin without their best hitter.

Robel Garcia - The Dominican came via the Italian National team where the Cubs signed him. He is only hitting .219 but has been their RBI source with four homeruns and 19 RBIs. He has walked 30 times but struck out 46 in 46 games. The Cubs will hope his power bat will add some explosiveness to the team.

Edmundo Sosa - Sosa stirs the drink with his 27 runs scored, second in the league. A 7/41 walk to whiff ratio is cause for concern.

Yuniesky Maya - We thought he would be a star in the major leagues, but he has had his struggles in the KBO and the major leagues. Pitching in the Dominican Winter League he is 1-3, 3.46 and is second in the league in strikeouts with 46. He last pitched in the United States during the summer in 2016.

Leones del Escogido (24-26)

Ivan Castillo - Not a lot of big bats on this team. Ivan leads the team in RBIs with 18. He also has 7 stolen bases in 8 attempts and his 26 runs scored is tops on the team. His two homeruns is tied for the team lead with many.

Melky Mesa - He used to be a big time outfield prospect with the Yankees. Now he is hitting .272 with two homeruns for Escogido. His .306 batting average against lefties makes him a possible platoon fit.

David Kubiak - His 52 whiffs in just 51.1 innings leads the Dominican League. His 12 starts are the second most, where he has put together a 4-3 record with a 2.81 ERA. Kubiak has only given up one run in his last three starts. David also pitches in the Mexican Summer League.

The United States failed to qualify for the Olympics in the Premier 12. Their Southern neighbor Mexico qualified, as well as Korea. This leaves four of six countries qualified for the Olympics, Japan (host), Israel (European/Africa qualifier), Korea and Mexico (both from Premier 12). The Americas qualifier is the next to last opportunity countries have to qualify for the Olympics. The second and third place finishers become eligible for the final qualifier in Taiwan, to be held in April..

Below are the pools:

Pool A

United States, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua

Pool B

Cuba, Venezuela, Canada and Colombia

The United States has been fielding a team of minor league prospects. While these players have been competitive they have yet to qualify the United States team for the Olympics. The same prospect heave team is expected for the Americas qualifying round to be held from March 22-26.

The final qualifier will be held in Taiwan from April 1-5.

Puerto Rico will be the site of the 2020 Series del Caribe. The last time it was held in Puerto Rico was in 2015. Myworld was there to witness Cuba’s first participation in the event. They ended up Series del Caribe champions that year. Hiram Bithorn stadium will again host the event. The dates are from February 1-7, with the first five days being pool play and the last two days playoffs. Three games will be played each day with the first game starting at 10 AM and the last starting at 8 PM. Usually when you buy one ticket it will allow you to attend all three games that day.

Panama returns after winning the event last year in their first ever participation. There was some thought of Nicaragua and Colombia also participating but that is expected to happen in 2021. The teams participating in the event are Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Each of those countries has their winter league season and the winning team from those winter leagues advances to the Series del Caribe.

The America’s is another opportunity for the United States to qualify for the Olympics in Japan in 2020. The next to last qualifier will be played in Arizona from March 22 -26. The last qualifier will be played in Taiwan. The second and third place teams from the America’s qualifying round will be eligible to participate in Taiwan. Below are the pools from that group.

Group A

United States, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua

Group B

Cuba, Venezuela, Canada and Colombia

The United States would be the favored team in this group.

It appears the secret to success for this United States team is to out slug their opponents. They hit four homeruns yesterday to defeat the Dominican Republic 10-8 and advance to the Super Round in Tokyo. Leadoff batter Mark Payton started the game off with a homerun and Alec Bohm bombed a three run homer in the third to lead the offense.

Charlie Valerio hit a three run homer for the Dominican Republic in the bottom of the fifth to close the gap to 9-7. The United States turned to its bullpen to shut out the Dominicans for the next three innings. In the 9th Brandon Dickerson retired the first two hitters, but two singles put the tying run Carlos Peguero at the plate. Dickerson was able to strike him out to secure the save.

Erik Kratz had a solo homerun and three hits in the game. He batted .625 for the tournament with two homeruns. Alec Bohm also had three hits in the game. Robert Dalbec drove in a run for the third consecutive game and tied for the lead in RBIs with six. Charlie Valerio was a perfect 3 for 3, falling a triple short of the cycle. Edwin Espinal drove in three runs for the Dominicans with his two singles and finished the tournament with 6 RBIs.

On the pitching front Wyatt Mills was a savior with his two shutout innings. Noah Song struck out three hitters in the eighth, giving up a single.

Mexico continues to be a thorn in the United States side by upsetting them yesterday and advancing to the Super Round in Tokyo in a couple weeks. Roman Solis slugged a three run homer to end a five run fifth and the Mexican bullpen shut down the United States bats for the final six innings to finish off an 8-2 win.

Mexico got off to a fast start in the first inning on a two run single by Christian Villanueva off Tanner Houck. The United States bounced back in the third and fourth innings on solo homeruns from Erik Kratz and Robert Dalbec. For Dalbec it was his second homerun of the series.

Kratz allowed the go ahead run to score in the fifth inning on a passed ball. Noah Perio and Jonathan Jones had started the inning with singles to put runners on first and third and no out. Houck struck out one and Daniel Tillo struck out both hitters he faced, but with two out Kratz let a pitch slip by him to score Perio, which proved to be the winning run.

Mexico put the game away in the 8th with five runs. Efren Navarro drove in two with a single and Solis put the dagger in the heart with a three run homerun.

The Mexican bullpen did not allow a runner to second after the Dalbec homerun. Jesus Cruz and Carlos Bustamante each pitched two perfect innings, striking out five of the six hitters they faced.

In the other game the Dominican Republic blasted Netherlands 14-4. The Dominican Republic did not score in the first inning, but scored in the next six to put the game away. Ex-major leaguer Jair Jurrjens gave up five hits and three runs for the Netherlands.

The Dominicans turned to Ervin Santana. He also gave up five hits in just 2.1 innings of work, serving up a leadoff homer to Roger Bernadina and a two run homer to Chadwick Tromp in the first inning to give the Netherlands an early 3-0 lead.

A six run sixth inning by the Dominicans put the game out of reach. Alfredo Marte’s three run double was the big hit of the inning. Marte finished the game with four RBIs. Gilberto Cestino drove in the go ahead run with a double in the fourth. He also made a game saving catch in centerfield in the bottom of the fourth to prevent the tying run from scoring and possibly shifting the momentum in the game.

The United States will face the Dominican today to determine the second team to advance to Tokyo for the Super Round. The winner advances to Tokyo and the loser goes home.

The long ball was popular yesterday in the openers of the first round of the Premier 12s. The United States used it in their 9-0 win over Netherlands. Veteran changeup artist Rob Cordemans got the start for the Netherlands but he did not fool enough people with his changeup. He lasted just three innings and gave up two long balls to put the Netherlands in an early a hole.

Drew Waters sent his first pitch over the right field wall to give the United States an early lead. The United States scored another run on a sacrifice fly infield popup in the second inning. Juremi Profar caught a popup with his back to the plate and Jacob Cronenworth had the speed to tag up from third and score. Jo Adell took Cordemans deep in the third inning to make it 3-0.

Lars Huijer tried his luck in the fourth. He held the United States scoreless in that inning but in the fifth the Netherlands walked Daulton Varsho to load the bases to face slugger Bobby Dalbec. Dalbec blasted a pitch deep over the centerfield wall for a grand slam homer and a 7-0 United States lead. Brent Rooker finished the homerun derby with his two run shot in the eighth off Jim Ploeger.

The Netherlands could not solve Cody Ponce, who pitched five shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out five. Four different relievers followed Ponce, each working one inning without giving up a hit.

Mexico got a grand slam from Esteban Quiroz in the third inning to beat the Dominican Republic 6-1. Efren Navarro and Matt Clark punctuated the win with back to back jacks in the sixth. The game lasted only six innings with Humberto Castellanos throwing the last two innings and getting the win.

The Dominican Republic got their only run in the first inning on an RBI single from Carlos Peguero. Ex-major league reliever Enny Romero got the start for the Dominican Republic and faltered in the third inning after pitching two solid innings. Other than the third inning when he gave up three of his five hits Romero was strong. He struck out 10 hitters in just 4.1 innings. Luis Perez gave up the back to back homers in the sixth.

Mexico will play the United States today with the winner guaranteed of advancing to Japan for the second round. Mexico has always been a thorn in the United States side. They eliminated them from appearing in an Olympic in the past. The Dominican Republic plays the Netherlands with the loser being virtually eliminated from advancing to Japan for the second round. The Netherlands has been a thorn in the side of the Dominican Republic in World Baseball Classic events.