Cuba has a rich history in Baseball and in the WBC, this includes being the tournament’s runner-up in the inaugural edition of 2006. Even though the haven’t always had their best MLB talent on the field with the squad, this mostly by their own doing. Even with this self-inflicted handicap Cuba has always been a dangerous team in the WBC, this includes a semifinal appearance in Miami during the last tournament.
Leading off for my team will be Yoenis Céspedes who debuted in the 2009 tournament hitting .458 with two longballs and five runs batted in. The slugger parlayed that into a 4-year, 36 million dollar contract with the then Oakland Athletics. My second hitter would be the great Yulieski Gurriel who debuted in the 2006 tournament and was a key hitter with the Cubans all the way through the 2013 tournament, Gurriel is amongst the tournament leaders in a lot of statistical category
Frederich Cepeda and Alfredo Despaigne would be my third and cleanup hitters. The two sluggers are amongst the tournament’s all-time leaders in hits, doubles, homeruns and runs batted in. José Abreu would round up my meat of the order, the native of Cienfuegos, Cuba hit .360 with three homeruns and 9 RBIs to lead Cuba’s offense during the 2013 edition of the World Baseball Classic.
Yasmany Tomás was also a key bat for Cuba in the 2013 tournament. His homerun against Japan in the first round and five runs batted in paced the team’s offense. Tomás’ offensive prowess netted him a contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014. José Miguel Fernández had a breakout 2013 tournament hitting a team high .524 and was third on the team with 6 runs batted in.
Pestano who was a defensive stalwart of the 2006 Classic was a very opportune hitter also homering once during an important game against Venezuela during that edition. His glove work even impressed the great Ivan Rodríguez, whom he tagged out at home to save Cuba’s 4-3 win over the Puerto Ricans catapulting them Antilleans into the semifinals.
Erisbel Arruebarrena would hit ninth for me in this lineup. His over .300 average for the tournament and his glove work beats out Eduardo Paret. Arruebarrena was a key cog in last tournament’s semifinal squad. The infielder had a cup of coffee with the Dodgers in MLB during the 2014 season.
My starting pitcher would be the diminutive right-hander Yadel Martí whom posted a 0.00 ERA during the tournament, won a game and even managed to save two games. His work against the Dominican Republic’s potent lineup cemented his place on this list.
Pedro Luis Lazo, whom saved that same game and shutdown a lineup that included Albert Pujols, Adrian Beltre, Miguel Tejada and David Ortiz earns the spot as the top reliever. The giant righty had a 2.45 earned run average during the tournament and fanned the dangerous Alfonso Soriano to propel Cuba into the final against Japan.
My lineup was as follows:
- Yoenis Céspedes CF
- Yuli Gurriel 3B
- Frederich Cepeda LF
- Alfredo Despaigne DH
- José Abreu 1B
- Yasmany Tomás RF
- José Miguel Fernández 2B
- Ariel Pestano C
- Erisbel Arruebarrena SS
P Yadel Martí
CP Pedro Luis Lazo
Honorable Mentions:
Eduardo Paret(SS), Raidel Martínez(RHP), Yoandy Garlobo (DH),Yoan Moncada (3B), Héctor Olivera(2B),Osmani Urrutia (RF), Alexei Ramírez (CF)