Yandro Hernández left Cuba at the beginning of January. Without wasting anytime, he accelerated his preparation in the Dominican Republic and in just over a month he already has an agreement in principle with the Minnesota Twins. The outfielder is the son of the former Metropolitans and Industriales outfielder Stayler Hernández and was one of the best prospects left on the island in the youth category, before his departure.
This Thursday our colleague Francys Romero announced through his social networks that the young man from the capital will soon sign with the Twins for a bonus of $800,000. The agreement will become official when he receives his free agency in a few days. Hernández was a member of the Cuban team that attended the pre-World Cup in La Paz, Mexico, at the end of 2022, a tournament in which Cuba was unable to qualify for the World Cup. There he hit .357 with a pair of doubles and an RBI.
✅ Yandro Manuel Hernández (LHA) está siendo una de las notas más altas en el campeonato juvenil cubano:
✓AVG: .463 (1)
✓H: 37 (1)
✓TB: 46 (T1)
✓SLG: . 575 (1)
✓OPS: 1.117 (1)
✓VIEV: 9 (1)
✓BI: 6 (1)
✓R: 24 (2)
✓OBP: .542 (2)
✓2B: 9 (3)
✓RBI: 25 (3) pic.twitter.com/rgEjyxV53p— Miguel Rodríguez Hernández (@MiguelRH98) March 27, 2023
Hernández has great potential, before his departure he played in the U-18 National Championship with his province (which was stopped due to lack of fuel), where he literally led the tournament in every offensive category. The slugger led hitters with a .463 average, was also the leader in hits (37), SLG (.575) and OPS (1.117). He also placed second in runs scored (24) and OBP (.542), while finishing third in doubles (9) and RBIs (25).
In Cuba, a lot of talent continues to emerge, but with the economic situation that the country is going through, the departures of young talented players are more common everyday. Which is the case of Hernández. The young prospect is the eighth U-18 player to leave the country. One of his teammates and a player who also had an excellent performance in that U-18 league, José Luis Cerice, has already agreed to terms with the Kansas City Royals for $700,000.