Yosver Zulueta, the star from Cuba still has to shine
“My main goal is to stay healthy and mature as a player. I want to be the best pitcher I can be and justify my status as a top signee.” That was Yosver Zulueta’s plan in 2019 when he was still recovering from Tommy John surgery. After a few weeks, the Cuban pitcher was already able to extend his arm. Recovery has been going well since, though taking a long fifteen months. The news broke out on February 12th, 2021, that Zulueta had been included in the list of the Toronto Blue Jays non-roster invitees for Spring Training 2021. Everybody got excited. Many baseball fans are reaching out to grab a bet365 canadian code to make the most of this sudden opportunity. The Blue Jays spent $1.5 million back in 2019 to sign the young pitcher out of Cuba, using additional international bonus pool money from trading Kendrys Morales and Dwight Smith Jr.
Zulueta, then a kid of 21, signed with Toronto as an international free agent and was assigned to the DSL Blue Jays (Toronto’s rookie affiliate team). Unluckily, he got a diagnosis of a torn UCL and needed immediate surgery. And no chance to play at all in the Minor League before surgery and recovery. Before leaving Cuba, he briefly appeared in the 2017 Friendship Series between the United States and Cuba in Cary, North Carolina. He did not pitch in that series, so what did the Blue Jays see in him at all?
Those who are better informed know that Yosver Zulueta is a flamethrower. He had reportedly been clocked up to 98 m.p.h. and sits 94-95. In 2018, at the time of his defection, he had an ERA of 1.96. His debut in Cuba happened when he was barely 18, but he started playing baseball at six. A native of Remedios, Cuba, Zulueta pitched for the Villa Clara province. The team was called the Naranjas de Villa Clara (the Villa Clara Oranges) in the 2016-17 Cuban National Series. In that season, in 22.0 innings, Zulueta pitched to an ERA of 4.09, striking out 22 in three starts. Then he moved on to pitch for Granma.
The second superpower of the Cuban flamethrower is that he has an assortment of pitches and can throw the ball from various angles. Rumor has it that he is developing a sneakily effective curveball. Some commentators have defined him as “a bit wild at times, but showing an immense amount of raw talent” and also a “diamond in the rough.” Three years ago, he was a lanky and frail-looking post-adolescent, while today he stands 6″2 and weighs about 220. Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo has already assisted to a bullpen session featuring pitching prospect Yosver Zulueta. Observers assure that Montoyo was impressed by his Cuban invitee.
Here is a bit of gossip by Scott Mitchell of TSN: “In Dunedin, he was regularly touching high-90s with his heat, including one secondhand report of a session where he faced Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in November and hit 99 mph on the gun, drawing a bit of an oh-my look from Vladdy.” So, whatever the Blue Jays decide to do with him in 2021, definitely keep an eye on Yosver Zulueta.
