As the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers inch closer to the action in Taiwan, Nicaragua is adding starting pitcher Oscar Rayo to their starting rotation. He will join J.C. Ramirez and Ronald Medrano as options for the top of Nicaragua’s rotation.
Rayo, 23, was born in Managua, Nicaragua. He was signed by the Kansas City Royals in January 2021 and reached High-A this past season. The southpaw is currently not ranked on the Kansas City Royals top prospects list on MLB Pipeline.
He was mainly used as a relief pitcher in his minor league career but also has made starts in each of his four seasons in the minor leagues. Rayo spent the first two years of his career pitching at the rookie level, then made the jump to Low-A for 2023. In 23 appearances and six starts, Rayo went 5-2 with a 3.15 ERA, striking out 66 batters and walking 12 through 71.1 innings. His 2024 was much stronger at High-A, where he would go 6-0 in 25 games and seven starts, posting a 2.13 ERA with 78 strikeouts and 19 walks across 84.2 innings pitched.
The World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in Taiwan will take place from February 21 to February 25. Nicaragua is tasked with facing South Africa, Spain, and Chinese Taipei, respectively. It will be intriguing to see if Nicaragua can punch their ticket and enter the World Baseball Classic for the second time in Nicaragua’s history.
