As per a Francys Romero report Yuli and Lourdes Gurriel Jr’s cousin Luis Enrique Gurriel has decided to abandoned the island. The 12-year-old star of Cuba’s Bayamo Little League team is with his father in the Dominican Republic in search of a better life.
The young man arrived in the Dominican Republic accompanied by his father, Luis Enrique Gurriel, who is the brother of Lourdes Gurriel Sr. and therefore the uncle of Lourdes and Yuli Gurriel. During 2023 Luis Enrique Gurriel Jr. participated in the Little League tournament in Williamsports, United States. At the beginning of the year he was also with the Cuba U-12 team that played in Aguascalientes, Mexico, where he hit a robust .412 , with two homers and four RBIs.
He has physical and technical potential to sign a contract in the future with an MLB organization according to several scouts. Gurriel is still very young and would be eligible for the 2027-2028 period. He is a 5’9 player who will only get bigger as time goes by; he has not yet entered the developmental age of adolescence.
Sources: OF/SS Luis Enrique Gurriel Jr. (12) left Cuba in recent days and will seek to sign with an MLB team in the future.
He was member of the Cuban National team in Little Leagues last August. Luis is the cousin of Lourdes Jr. and Yuli Gurriel. His father played for 20… pic.twitter.com/iLDie9pBNO
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) January 9, 2024
Several experts believe that his bat is the most developed to date. The younger Gurriel has an excellent arm and in the future he could develop into a shortstop. He can also pitch and played in the outfield. At 12 years of age it is difficult to predict his future development, this will depend on his dedication to the sport. Several scouts that saw him in Mexico point out that he has the potential to become a very good player.
According to Romero’s own report, Luis Enrique is the 5th player to leave the last Cuba U-12. His name joins that of Mario Serra, Kendry Abreu, Gabriel Tito Mustelier and Yondel Sajoni Cárdenas, these four children also defected in 2023. In Cuba, a lot of talent continues to emerge, but with the economic situation that the country is going through, the parents themselves arrange departures for their kids, they cannot afford to wait and waste their talent, which is why they try to depart the island as soon as possible.