Raisel Iglesias – Another Cuban Prospect gets Big League Contract

More so now than ever, Cuba’s top baseball prospects are defecting the island and having a huge impact on Major League Baseball. Many of these prospects spend little to no time in the minors before they’re called up and perform like All-Stars Yasiel Puig, Jose Abreu and Aroldis Chapman. The latest prospect on the verge of joining this list is the Cincinnati Reds’ Raisel Iglesias, who recently signed a seven-year, $30 million contract.

Now, Iglesias isn’t as heralded or as proven as the aforementioned players, but you better believe he has “the stuff.” In his last full season at Serie National (Cuban League), his strikeouts per nine innings ratio (K/9) was 8.4 and his earned run average was a microscopic 1.68.

Fireworks show at the Cincinnati Reds Stadium
Photo credit: Dave Lundy

If those numbers don’t impress you, maybe the ones he posted in international competition will. In August 2013 he played against the U.S. Collegiate National Team and had three relief appearances in which he gave up one hit over five innings and fanned five. Did I mention that the kid is only 24-years-old?

Why isn’t everybody talking about Iglesias? Well, it’s because he also has some flaws and concerns in his game. He is five-foot-eleven and 165 lbs. with a 92+ MPH fastball. That stature is more like Billy Wagner and less like Mariano Rivera, so there are concerns about his long-term durability. The more immediate concern or flaw is spotty control at times. Iglesias has an 80 mph slider that usually leaves batters frozen in the box or walking to first base on a free pass.

Pick him up if you are in a keeper league and he becomes available in the player pool because the talent is there. Iglesias has a high ceiling in terms of potential and should fit in well in the Reds’ bullpen. Cincinnati tried to convert Chapman into a starter and it might be easier to do if Iglesias becomes the relief pitcher they think is worth $30 million. The belief is that better coaching will help refine the mechanics that make him a little wild and add couple miles per hour to his fastball. The kid has all the makings of another ‘Mighty Mouse’ closer on the mound.

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