After a slow start, the Olmecas de Tabasco have turned their season around, climbing into a tie for first place in the Zona Sur with a 25-14.
On May 17, the Olmecas were 14-13, one game above .500. Ten games before that, they were 6-11, meaning they’ve gone 19-3 in their last 22 games. What’s changed?
Well, for one thing, former Houston Astros first-round draft pick Seth Beer has caught fire in his first season in Mexico. After appearing in 48 MLB games with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2021 and 2022, he spent the bulk of his next three seasons at Double-A in the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies organizations before playing for Long Island in the independent Atlantic League last year and coming to Mexico this season.
So far, Tabasco has been a great fit for Beer, who’s hitting .379/.480/.726 with an astonishing 1.206 OPS, 10 homers, and 33 RBIs through 36 games.
And in addition to Beer, newcomer Yunior Severino, a former Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins farmhand who topped out at Triple-A, is off to a great start after making a late-season cameo with Tabasco last year. Severino leads the team with a .401 average, a .468 on-base percentage, and has driven in 35 runs in 34 games.
On the mound, the Olmecas may not have gotten great relief work from Jimmy Cordero (1.74 ERA, 20 2/3 IP) and Alexandro Tovalin (1.33 ERA, 20 1/3 IP) and steady and competent if not flashy starts from Tyler Danish, Jeremy Rhoades, and Evan Grills. The Olmecas have a team ERA of 4.22, the fourth-best in the league, and have allowed just 109 walks, the third-fewest in the league.
Tabasco hasn’t made the playoffs since 2023, but this could be the year they return to the postseason and make a deep run.
Singleton Still Leads Homer Race Despite Slowdown, Bravos Lead Zona Sur – Jon Singleton still leads the LMB with 14 homers despite hitting just three balls over the wall since mid-May, but he’s got company atop the leaderboard.
Leon’s Gabriel Cancel, who’s been putting together an MVP-worthy season for the Bravos, has hit 13 homers this year, as has Puebla’s Moises Gomez.
Despite Singleton’s slowdown, the Diablos Rojos have continued to roll towards the postseason in hopes of a third consecutive Serie del Rey title. Former Chicago White Sox catcher and first baseman Carlos Perez leads the league with a .408 average and has 30 RBIs. Robinson Cano is tied with Leon’s Gabriel Cancel for the league lead in RBIs with 44, and Cano and Maikel Franco have each hit 10 homers, contributing to the team’s league-leading 67 homers, with Julian Ornelas (9) and Franklin Barreto (8) also contributing to the Diablos’ longball tally.
Notable Series This Week – The top two teams in the Zona Norte collide early this week when the Charros de Jalisco (24-15) head to Baja California to face the Toros de Tijuana (26-12), and down south, the Diablos Rojos (25-14) face the Bravos de Leon (22-17) in a three-game series featuring two playoff-bound teams.
Over the weekend, the Olmecas de Tabasco (25-14) visit the Diablos Rojos in Mexico City.
Photo: Seth Beer is hitting .379/.480/.726 with an astonishing 1.206 OPS, 10 homers, and 33 RBIs through 36 games. (Photo courtesy of the Olmecas de Tabasco)
