The Leones de Leon (Nicaragua) and the Águilias Metropolitans (Panama) have reached the Serie de Las Americas finals.
Leones de Leon Infielder Emmanuel Trujillo, 23, has been the best hitter in the tournament, leading all hitters with four home runs, 10 RBI, eight runs, and a slugging percentage of 1.389 in 18 at-bats. Trujillo is a right-handed hitter who has played two seasons in Nicaragua with Tigres de Chinandega in Liga de Béisbol Profesional Nacional. He made his LBPN debut in the 2022-2023 winter and didn’t play last winter. His LBPN career numbers are six home runs, 22 RBI, and an OPS of .884 in 100 at-bats.
The Águilas Metropolitans have gotten strong pitching from right-handed pitcher Enrique Saldana. He is Panamese and has helped push Panama to the finals with two starts, 12 innings, nine strikeouts, one run allowed (0.75 ERA), and two wins.
Saldana, 25, signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies in 2015. He never made it out of their Dominican Summer League team, the DSL Rockies, and was claimed by the St.Louis Cardinals after the 2019 season. The furthest he made it was to their Florida Complex League, Team the FCL Cardinals in 2021, and he elected to become a free agent after the 2022 season.
His career minor league numbers with the Rockies and Cardinals are 109 innings, 96 strikeouts, and a 2.81 ERA.
Serie de Las Americas Championship Game Schedule and Where to Watch:
Panama vs Nicaragua 7pm ET @ Estadio Nacional Soberania, Managua
Fans can watch on Youtube.
