Now in the first week of November, the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional is heating up with Major League Baseball players beginning to join and top prospects continuing to shine.
One of those prospects is Tampa Bay Rays 21-year-old infielder Jadher Areinamo. The second baseman leads the LVBP with six home runs and ranks second in OPS at 1.129 for the Tiburones de La Guaira. He’s been one of the league’s best hitters in his debut winter season in Venezuela. On Tuesday, his two-home-run, seven-RBI performance against the Tigres de Aragua stood out as one of the highlights of the LVBP season so far.
Jeferson Quero, once rated the No. 3 catching prospect in MLB before a torn labrum wiped out nearly his entire 2024 season, has reminded everyone why he was so highly regarded. The Cardenales de Lara catcher is hitting .324/.390/.730 with four homers and 16 RBIs in just 10 games. With Quero likely to make his MLB debut with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2026, he’s putting on a show in winter ball and looks the part of one of Venezuela’s future stars behind the plate.
After more than three weeks of play, the Tigres de Aragua continue to lead the league as they have all season. They sit at 11-5, two games ahead of Bravos de Margarita. While their rotation has been inconsistent, the bullpen has been a major strength. High-leverage arms Jonathan Vargas and Christian Suárez have been dominant in setup roles for closer Ronnie Williams. All three relievers have ERAs under 2.00, a difference-maker for a team whose offense and rotation have been average overall. With a reliable back end of the bullpen, Aragua appears well-positioned in the regular season as other clubs continue to grapple with pitching issues.
While the Tigres have maintained their fast start, the Navegantes del Magallanes continue to struggle. They dropped to 5-10 after a 10-3 loss to Bravos de Margarita on Tuesday. Magallanes ranks last in the league in batting average (.230) and OPS (.671) and is the only team with an OPS below .700. Despite having the LVBP’s best team ERA (3.71) and one of its deepest pitching staffs, they’ve been undone by an anemic offense that has scored a league-low 60 runs, averaging just four per game. With the bottom 2 teams being eliminated at before the round robin, Magallanes will have to turn things out before they dig a hole too deep to come back from.
Magallanes made a move this week to bolster its pitching depth, trading Anthony Vizcaya to Leones del Caracas for Yohander Méndez. Méndez spent the 2025 season in Taiwan, where he posted a 3.51 ERA with 97 strikeouts in 120 2/3 innings for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions. Vizcaya, meanwhile, struggled in limited action with Magallanes, giving up seven runs in three innings. However, he has a track record of success—winning LVBP’s Set-Up Man of the Year in 2021-22 and Closer of the Year in 2023-24.
If Vizcaya can regain his form, it would be a significant boost for a Leones bullpen that has been one of the league’s weakest. Caracas relievers have combined for a 6.17 ERA and have already blown five saves in 15 games.
