Exploring the promising future of Yariel Rodríguez
A trip down memory lane to explore the progress of the talented Cuban right-hander, Yariel Rodríguez.
Editor's Note: I wrote this piece three years ago, when Cuban right-hander Yariel Rodríguez was beginning to become a prospect for the Chinichi Dragons in Japanese professional baseball. Now, three years later, with Yariel Rodríguez at a great moment of maturity and progress as a professional pitcher, you can reread this piece in retrospect through a journey through the Yirsandy Archives.
Enero 23, 2020
LA HABANA — When the Chunichi Dragons formalized the signature of Cuban pitcher Yariel Rodríguez, they not only valued obtaining the guarantee of a young pitcher with great impact in the Cuban National Series: But they also opted for one of the most talented pitchers in current Cuban baseball.
Yariel Rodríguez, 22, has all the necessary talent, and even the time and some experience combined with development, to impact the Japanese Professional League. The Dragons have been aware of that and offered a contract of $136,000, which will open the doors for the right-handed Camaguey to debut as a professional. The first show that caught their attention has been Yariel’s level jump, dominating the National Series with 211 strikeouts in his last 232 ⅔ innings.
However, beyond that outstanding trend in a league where there are no consistent strikeouts like two decades ago, the Dragons appreciated the effect of a pitcher with promising projections for the future. Since you see him mix his fastball between 93-95 mph sustained — he has climbed up to 97 and 98 — with a beautiful curveball and his impressive slider that sinks before crossing the home, you can calculate the magnitude of his abilities.
After five seasons since he debuted at age 17 in the 55 National Series, the most interesting thing in Yariel’s progress has been the stability and strength of his arm, something that the Dragons want to maintain. Between his 17 and 20 years, Yariel threw 217 innings in National Series, but already between 20 and 22, accumulates 316 ⅔ IP.
In his last four seasons, he has averaged at least 102 ⅔ innings, 450 batters faced, and 81 strikeouts: Without his physical strength, putting numbers would have been much harder in a league where batters had just averaged the highest OBP (.370) and slugging (.402) of the last five years. Starting from that point, Yariel has been incorporating adjustments in his pitching mechanics, repertoire, and command. What trends do your 2019 metrics show? We can look through the three true results: Strikeouts walks and home runs.
YEAR — SO% —BB% —HR%
2015: 7.7% —4.7% —1.8%
2016: 15.6% —13.2% —1.2%
2017: 14.2% —13.4% —0.5%
2018: 20.1% —11.2% —1.2%
2019: 21.3% —12.4% —0.7%
What are we watching? Indeed!: The SO% mark (strikeout rate) of 21.3% in 2019 has been Yariel’s best in his career. But what else do we have around that number? The home run rate (HR%) also fell during the last campaign. That 0.7% is an impressive result, especially when we explore other trends in the Yariel domain: Its GB rate dropped from 63.9% to 55.2% and admitted more flyball. However, as you can see if you go back to the percentages that I exposed earlier here, you will appreciate that Yariel limited the homers of his opponents. More flyballs and fewer home runs? Yes!:
YEAR GB% / FB + LD%
2015: 50.3%, 49.7%
2016: 61.1%, 38.9%
2017: 67.7%, 32.3%
2018: 63.9%, 36.1%
2019: 55.2%, 44.8%
From 36.1% flyballs allowed to 44.8% is a big change, which shows the effect of Yariel’s fastball, but also the intense implementation of its curveball and slider. He also endured fewer extra bases (just 12 in 99 innings!) And, for the first time in his career, finished with more strikeouts than allowed hits (93 by 91).
With all these striking results, in a league where just three other pitchers have been able to register at least one 100-strikeout campaign between 2012 and 2019 (Yoanis Yera, Vladimir García, and Darien Núñez), the big challenge for Yariel Rodríguez will be to impose on baseball Japanese professional If you continue to improve your control and your arm stays healthy as before, we could expect a great impact on your first professional experience with the Chunichi Dragons.
At 22, the right-handed Camaguey has everything to become an even more dominant pitcher: Focus, talent, some experience accumulated despite his youth and desire to succeed.
Simply, the expected opportunity arrived. The Dragons did not delay in taking advantage of their promising projections. Yariel Rodríguez knows, now he has to demonstrate his talent.