The Tigres de Chinandega, the champions of Nicaragua’s Germán Pomares Championship from 2024, have announced their roster for the 2025 Baseball Champions League Americas to be played next month in México City.
Eighteen players who represented Nicaragua at the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers last month will be on the roster.
Ronald Medrano should be this team’s ace. He pitched for Rieleros de Aguascalientes in 2024 and posted a 3.54 ERA across 81 1/3 innings pitched in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol. He will again pitch for them in 2025. He pitched this past winter in the Mexican Pacific League and posted a 3.13 ERA in 63 1/3 innings for the league’s champion, the Charros de Jalisco.
J.C. Ramírez is another familiar name in the pitching staff. The former Major Leaguer made 142 appearances in MLB and 320 in the minors. He pitched in the LMB in 2024 as well as Venezuela this past winter. He appeared for Nicaragua at WBCQ last month and threw 2 1/3 shutout innings against Spain to help lift Nicaragua to the win.
One of the top hitters for this team should be first baseman Elián Miranda. Former minor leaguer and star of Chinandega’s team during the 2025 Germán Pomares. He leads the league in HR with 5 and leads in OPS with 1.520.
Another top hitter will be former minor league infielder Brandon Leytón. He was Nicaragua’s best hitter at WBCQ last month with a 1.346 OPS and a homer, and that has carried over to the Germán Pomares this spring. He has a 1.085 OPS in 2025 with three homers.
The Tigres de Chinandega could be the biggest threat to Diablos Rojos in this tournament with their strong pitching staff. They open the tournament on April 9 against Titanes de Florida, the champions of Puerto Rico’s Liga Superior Beisbol Doble-A. They play the hosts, the Diablos Rojos del México, on April 10. The top team in each three-team group of the 6 total teams will earn an automatic berth in the semifinals.
