It’s been a long preseason for the Algodoneros de Guasave.
They’ve been to Spain, where they played in the Barcelona Baseball Cup, and Arizona, where they played preseason games as part of the annual Mexican Baseball Fiesta. And finally, on Saturday, they can get down to business, playing games that count.
They’ll be the first games that Jolbert Cabrera, who played eight seasons in Major League Baseball, manages for Guasave, taking over for Oscar Robles, who got the team to the Championship Series in the 2023-24 season.
“I see a very good team, and we are trying to make the players feel comfortable, but at the same time to execute the plays, to make the best of each opportunity that is presented to them. … We want to have a winning identity, to put that on the table, and to make that impression on the opposing team. Let them know that we are there to win the game, that we are not here for a walk, and that our goal is to come out with a win every night,” said Cabrera in a piece on the team’s website.
Among the returners to the Algodoneros is Cuban outfielder Yadir Drake, one of the most fearsome hitters outside of MLB, who batted .300/.414/.814 last season, driving in 19 runs. If Cabrera can get some more power out of Drake, who hit just two homers last winter, it would boost the lineup significantly. Drake, who escaped Cuba with former MLB outfielder Yasiel Puig, is a multi-talented player, able to hit for power and average with an above-average outfield arm.
The big pickup for the Algodoneros in the Foreign Player Draft is Drake’s countryman Leonys Martin, who hit .305/.410/.630 with a 1.040 OPS, 29 homers and 74 RBIs for the Conspiradores de Queretaro in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol this summer. If he comes to Guasave, Martin and Drake would bring a lot of pop to a lineup that averaged fewer than four runs per game in the regular season and struggled to put runs on the board against Hermosillo in the LAMP Championship Series.
Manager – Jolbert Cabrera (First Season)
2023-24 Record – 39-29, First in LAMP
2003-24 Playoff Results – Lost Championship Series 4-0 to Naranjeros de Hermosillo
First Game – Saturday, October 12 at Tomateros de Culiacan, 7:30 p.m. EDT
Mexican Player Draft Selections (Position – 2024 Team or MLB Organization/League)
Number indicates round in which player was selected
1. Edgar Lugo (P – Cincinnati Reds/MLB)
2. Ian Medina (P – Leones de Yucatan/MLB)
3. Carlos Santillan (P – San Diego Padres/MLB)
4. Jose Montijo (P – San Diego Padres/MLB)
5. Amilcar Carreon (P – Acereros de Monclova/LMB)
6. Brandon Herrera (IF – Diablos Rojos del Mexico/LMB)
7. Alexis Ricardo (P – Free Agent)
8. Jose Vasquez (P – Free Agent)
9. Edy Orenday (P – Free Agent)
10. Mateo Villavicencio (IF – Free Agent)
11. Jesus Anguamea (P – Tigres de Quintana Roo/LMB)
Foreign Player Draft Selections (Position – 2024 Team or MLB Organization/League)
Number indicates round in which player was selected
1. Michael Boyle (P – Leones de Yucatan/LMB)
2. Leonys Martin (OF – Conspiradores de Queretaro/LMB)
3. Lewis Thorpe (P – Dorados de Chihuahua/LMB)
4. James Nelson (IF – Caliente de Durango/LMB)
Photo: Yadir Drake, shown here with the Leones de Yucatan of the LMB, will again be a key component of the Algodoneros de Guasave lineup. (Photo by Carlos Santiago/Eyepix Group/LightRocket via Getty Images)
