The departure of Cuban baseball players through different avenues does not seem to be ready to cease anytime soon and on this occasion it is the brother of Ronald Bolaños, a pitcher on Cuba’s last World Classic squad has left the country according to the colleague Francys Romero.
Roger Bolaños was considered by experts to be amongst the 25 best prospects in Cuba under 18 years of age in 2020. The hurler arrived in the Dominican Republic a few days ago to try to secure a contract with a big league organization in the not-so-distant future.
According to Romero’s analysis, Bolaños could be a coveted pitcher if he returns to form. At the age of 18, his fastball was clocked at over 90 miles in the Cuban youth league. Bolaños, who served as the closer for the Mayabeque team in that tournament posted an ERA of 0.61, saved four games and opponents hit a paltry .178 against the hurler.
RHP Roger Bolaños (20), hermano de Ronald Bolaños que participó con Cuba en el V World Baseball Classic, salió de la isla este domingo.
Roger fue el prospecto #4 en mi listado de los 25 mejores Sub-18 de 2020. Su recta sobrepasa las 92 millas.https://t.co/DQTFmnwpkr
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) July 30, 2023
The righty participated in the Serie Nacional this season with the Hurricanes, but barely saw any action tossing 14.1 innings, where he had a 1-1 record, struck out 8 batters and posted a 4.40 ERA. This is the third defection for the Hurricanes in recent days. Marlon Vega and Yulian Quintana also decided to leave the country in the past week.
The goal of the young pitcher will surely be to follow in his brother’s foot steps and pitch in the majors. Ronald Bolaños spent four seasons in the show with Kansas City and San Diego and is currently in Triple-A with the Miami Marlins trying to work his way back up to the big leagues.