WBN’s International Player of the Week is Tren Del Norte infielder Alay Lago in Liga de Béisbol Profesional Nacional (LPBN) in Nicaragua.
The Cuban Lago, 33, is a right-handed hitter who leads the LBPN with 34 RBI despite hitting just one home run in 181 at-bats this season. His batting average of .370 is tied for fifth in the LBPN, and the only players hitting higher than him have 45 at-bats or less. Lago is also tied for the league lead at 67 hits with his teammate, outfielder Sabriel Polanco.
He played in Serie Nacional de Béisbol in Cuba from 2010-2013 with Industriales de La Habana. He didn’t play in 2013-2014 and returned in 2014-2015 for Cazadores de Artemisa. His numbers in Nacional de Béisbol are one home run and 20 RBI in 252 at-bats.
Lago fled Cuba for Mexico and played in Liga Mexicana de Béisbol in 2016 with Rojos del Águila de Veracruz. The Atlanta Braves signed him to an MiLB deal before the 2017 season, and he played for their High-A affiliate, the Florida Fire Frogs. In 2018, he made it to the Braves Double-A affiliate, the Mississippi Braves. He was released in July 2018 and never returned to an MLB organization.
His minor league numbers were eight home runs, 71 RBI, 11 stolen bases, and a slash line of .280/.313/.380 in 711 at-bats.
He has played in LBPN for Tren Del Norte the past four winters since he debuted in 2021. His career numbers in LBPN are seven home runs, 113 RBI, and 14 stolen bases in 575 at-bats.
Lago has 22 multi-hit games out of 44 and 10 three-hit games. He currently has a five-game hitting streak, and the first four games consisted of two-hit performances.
