Cuban Players News for the 2024 Major League Baseball season. A compilation of several sources
Yordan Alvarez went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer on Saturday, leading the Astros to a 6-1 victory over the Angels.
Alvarez went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, two doubles and two total runs scored in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Angels. Alvarez is seeing the ball well lately, going 19-for-43 (.442) with four homers, five doubles, 11 RBI and just three strikeouts over his last 11 contests. He's even chipped in a pair of stolen bases in that span. Alvarez is up to 13 homers, 33 RBI, 37 runs scored, 15 doubles and three steals while slashing .296/.369/.514 over 64 contests. His underlying metrics are near perfect, with a 12.7% barrel rate, 93.2 mph average exit velocity, and 47.8% hard-hit rate, which place him significantly above the average hitter. His spot in the lineup is virtually never in question, but he's picked up more time in left field recently with Chas McCormick sliding over to right to cover for the absence of Kyle Tucker.
Nestor Cortés gave up four runs while working 5 1/3 innings in a loss Saturday to the Dodgers.
Cortés gave up a pair of solo homers among the seven total hits Los Angeles tallied against him, and the four runs he yielded tied a season-high mark. The lefty hurler did at least manage to keep New York within striking range -- though the game ended in a blowout, most of the Dodgers' damage came after Cortes' departure. Cortés is hanging onto a respectable 3.68 ERA on the season, though his current 8.7 K/9 is on pace for his lowest mark since a four-appearance cup of coffee as a rookie in 2018. He’s scheduled to face the Royals on Thursday.
Yandy Díaz went 2-for-4 against the Orioles on Saturday.
It was a quiet afternoon for the Rays as they were shutout. Díaz had the only two hits for Tampa Bay. After winning the batting title in the American League last year, he’s hitting just .245 so far this season. Diaz’ .273 BABIP this year is well below his .320 career BABIP. That doesn’t explain his lack of power this year as his .105 ISO is way down from his .192 ISO last season.
Dairon Blanco collects 13th steal.
Blanco stole a base and scored one run in Saturday's 8-4 win over the Mariners. Blanco got his first game action since June 2 and did what he does best: make an impact with speed. The steal was his second in his last three games, but he's not seeing much playing time even with the Royals getting anemic batting lines from their regular outfielders. For the season, Blanco has 13 thefts to go with one home run, four RBI, 17 runs scored and a .255/.323/.364 slash line over 63 plate appearances.
Braves recalled RHP Daysbel Hernández from Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday but was optioned to Triple-A Sunday.
Hernández rejoined Atlanta’s bullpen mix with Jimmy Herget landing on the injured list ahead of Saturday’s showdown against the Nationals. He pitched one inning allowing a hit, a walk and with two strikeouts. However, early Sunday he was sent back to Triple-A Gwinnett. The 27-year-old righty has appeared in three games during 2024, throwing three scoreless innings while striking out three batters and walking two. He boasts a 2.29 ERA in 19.2 frames at Triple-A.
Gurriel Jr. extends his hitting streak.
Gurriel went 2-for-4 in Saturday's 13-1 loss to the Padres. Gurriel has hit safely in ten of his last 12 games, going 12-for-41 (.293) with three homers in that span. He played left field as a starter on Saturday. The outfielder has 37 RBI, 29 runs scored, three stolen bases and a .244/.285/.401 slash line over 256 plate appearances.
José Abreu hitless once again.
To be honest, Abreu has no place on Houston's roster right now, but the question is what to do with him? In the 6-1 victory over the Angels, Abreu went 0 for 4 with a strikeout. His offensive line for June is .143/.182/.429. He has two home runs and two RBIs. Those are not the numbers of an MLB player of his caliber. Because he hasn't shown much change after his time in the minors, Houston may decide about him before the end of the season.
Luis Robert Jr. was not in the lineup for Saturday’s game against the Red Sox.
It was a routine maintenance day for Robert, who has started four consecutive games for the White Sox since returning earlier this week from a lengthy stay on the injured list. There’s no reason for Chicago to push it from a health standpoint following an extended layoff, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Robert get some extra days off over the next few weeks to keep him fresh.
