WINTER LEAGUE REPORT: VENEZUELA
Iowa Cubs and Chicago Cubs baseball may be on break until spring, but baseball continues to be played around the globe by I-Cubs of the past, present and future. Throughout the offseason, winter league updates will be posted on iowacubs.com. Notable players playing in the Venezuelen Winter League include 2016 Iowa Cubs RHP Armando Rivero and LHP Gerardo Concepcion.
AGUILAS DEL ZULIA
BRYANT FLETE, INF (Prospect)
Stats: .244, 26G, 13R, 22H, 42B, 2HR, 9RBI, 11BB, 16K, 3/4SB
Flete claims a .244 average through 26 games with Zulia, but has regressed to a .152 clip over his last 10 contests. Of five hits over this span, one has fallen for extra bases. In his last game on November 10, Flete walked twice and scored two runs.
Background: Flete has yet to make his Iowa debut, but has been in the Chicago Cubs' organization since signing as a free agent in 2012. The second baseman has ascended as high as Advanced-A Myrtle Beach and hit .285 with 18 RBI in 34 games with the Pelicans in 2016.
BRAVOS DE MARGARITA
MANNY CORPAS, RHP (2012 w/ Iowa)
Stats: 1-0, 1.29 ERA, 13G, 14.0IP, 4R, 2ER, 2HR, 3BB, 19K
Corpas is off to a dominating start, allowing just two earned runs - both solo home runs - in 9.1 innings for Margarita. The righty has limited opponents to a .250 average with righties hitting a dismal .190.
Background: Corpas, 33, last appeared in affiliated ball in 2014 with Triple-A Colorado Springs and pitched to a 1-2 record with a 5.40 ERA through 28 games before he was released on July 13. Since, the righty has bounced between the Venezuelan Winter League, the Mexican League, the Mexican Pacific Winter League and the Independent Atlantic League. In 2016, he collected a 3-1 record with a 2.18 ERA (8ER/33.0IP) for York in the Independent League.
CARIBES DE ANZOATEGUI
JACKSON MELIAN, OF (2003 w/ Iowa)
Stats: .500, 1G, 1R, 1H, 13B, 2RBI, 1BB
Melian played his first and only game with Anzoategui on October 8. The outfielder went 1-for-2 with his only hit falling for a triple.
Background: The 36-year-old Melian hails from Venezuela and has played almost exclusively in his native country since the end of 2008, save for a stint in independent ball in 2010. His last appearance in affiliated ball was in 2008 when he suited up for Triple-A Toledo and Round Rock.
LEONES DEL CARACAS
JOSE ASCANIO, RHP (2008 w/ Iowa)
Stats: 1-0, 3.65 ERA, 12G, 12.1IP, 16H, 5R, 5ER, 4BB, 11K
Ascanio is coming off his best outing of the season on November 13 in which he threw 2.0 perfect frames with three strikeouts. It was the longest outing for the righty in his last 10 contests as he previously topped out at 1.1 innings and collected less than three outs three times.
Background: Ascanio last pitched in affiliated ball in 2011, appearing in 30 games for Triple-A Indianapolis (2-3, 4.91ERA) and eight games with Pittsburgh (0-0, 7.11ERA). The righty has played in the Mexican League in each of the last three seasons with 2016 marking the first in which he did not participate in summer ball.
NEVEGANTES DEL MAGALLANES
RONNY CEDENO, INF (2005, 2007 w/ Iowa)
Stats: .282, 28G, 33H, 82B, 13B, 16RBI, 3BB, 18K, 2/2SB
Cedeño has hit safely in eight of his last nine games with three consecutive multi-hit games during this stretch (Nov. 1-5). He adds three long balls and nine RBI to the mix.
Background: Cedeño is a 10-year major league veteran with four of those season spent in Chicago. The Venezuelan native spent the first eight seasons of his professional career in the Cubs' organization before an off-season trade sent him to Seattle prior to the 2009 season. Cedeño appeared in the majors as recently as 2014 with Philadelphia and last appeared for a minor league team in 2015 with Triple-A Sacramento. His 2016 summer was spent in Italy playing for Bologna where the 33-year-old hit .365 (42-for-115) with 23 RBI in 27 games. Cedeño's .357 career average with Iowa remains the best in franchise history (500 AB minimum) and his .413 on-base percentage is third.
GERARDO CONCEPCION, LHP (2016 w/ Iowa)
Stats: 2-2, 5.79 ERA, 13G, 14.0IP, 15H, 10R, 9ER, 6BB, 18K
Concepcion has yet to bounce back following a shaky end to 2016 with Iowa and has racked up a 5.79 ERA with Magallanes. However, Concepcion has upped his strikeout game, collecting 18 in 14.0 innings with four over 1.2 innings on November 1.
Background: Concepcion began 2016 with Double-A Tennessee and after throwing 17.1 scoreless innings, was promoted to Iowa for the first time. The lefty stretched his shutout streak to 24.1 innings, dating back to 2015, before allowing his first run of the season on May 26 against El Paso. Concepcion's success earned him his first call to Chicago and the 24-year-old made his big league debut on June 21. He appeared in three games for Chicago, allowing one run in 2.1 innings. The remainder of the season was tumultuous for Conception as following his return to Iowa on June 27, he amassed a 10.58 ERA (29ER/24.2IP) in 20 outings. He remains active on Chicago's 40-man roster.
GREYFER EREGUA, RHP (Prospect)
Stats: 3-0, 0.68 ERA, 10G, 13.1IP, 9H, 1R, 1ER, 4BB, 12K
Eregua is off to a blistering start with Magallanes, holding his opponents to a .205 average with a single earned run through 13.1 innings. He has won his last two relief appearances (Nov. 5 & 9) with 1.1 and 1.0 respective scoreless innings.
Background: Eregua, a Venezuelan native, signed with the Cubs as a free agent on March 1, 2012 and has worked his way through the farm, landing in Single-A South Bend for a full season in 2016. The righty went 3-4 with a 3.77 ERA (31ER/74.0IP) in 34 games for the Midwest League Cubs.
TIBURONES DE LA GUAIRA
RYAN SEARLE, RHP (2012 w/ Iowa)
Stats: 1-1, 4.50 ERA, 9G, 8.0IP, 8H, 4R, 4ER, 1HR, 3BB, 9K
Searle allowed a sole earned run through his first seven Winter League games (1.29ERA), but saw his ERA rise to 4.50 after allowing three earned runs off four hits over his last two appearances (1.0IP).
Background: Searle has just two games in an Iowa uniform under his belt, but spent his entire seven-year affiliated career in the Cubs' system. The righty was on the I-Cubs' roster for one week in 2012 and spun 6.2 scoreless frames over two outings. He was eventually released by the organization on May 7, 2014 and has since seen time with Brisbane in the Australian Baseball League (2014-15) and Bologna in the Italian Baseball League.
ALBERTO GONZALEZ, INF (2013 w/ Iowa)
Stats: .248, 30G, 17R, 30H, 32B, 14RBI, 9BB, 14K, 0/1SB
Gonzalez claims three, two-hit games through his last 10 contests, though he doesn't have a hit for multiple bases. Through 35 at-bats during this stretch, Gonzalez has whiffed twice with both strikeouts coming on November 5.
Background: Gonzalez was most recently in Detroit's organization, appearing for both Triple-A Toledo and Double-A Erie in 2016 before his release on May 27. The infielder signed with the Guerreros de Oaxaca of the Mexican League on June 7 where he spent the remainder of the season. Combined, Gonzalez hit .273 with 26 RBI and just 19 strikeouts in 337 plate appearances in 2016. Gonzalez served a short 10-game stint with Iowa in 2013, hitting .303 before he was traded to the Yankees on May 9.
TIGRES DE ARAGUA
GIOSKAR AMAYA, INF (2012 w/ Iowa)
Stats: .328, 18G, 64AB, 6R, 21H, 72B, 13B, 1HR, 8RBI, 0/1SB
Amaya has found success in the Winter League following a season in which he hit a combined .215 between Advanced-A and Double-A. However, he has seen a recent decline in production, managing a .194 average over his last 10 games. Over this stretch, he does claim his only homer (Oct. 28) and four of his six hits have been for extra bases.
Background: Amaya is still climbing the ranks of the Cubs' farm system, but can boast a single game in Triple-A Iowa in 2012 - his third professional season. The 23-year-old began his career as a middle infielder in 2010 but converted to catching prior to the 2015 season. Amaya spent 2016 with Double-A Tennessee and Advanced-A Myrtle Beach, faring much better at the lower rung. He collected a .245 average through 44 games with the Pelicans, while his average dipped to .183 in 44 games with the Smokies. Defensively, Amaya was moved around the diamond and primarily caught at Myrtle Beach while playing mostly first and third base with Tennessee.
AUSTIN BIBENS-DIRKX, RHP (2010-11 w/ Iowa)
Stats: 1-3, 2.61 ERA, 7G, 7GS, 38.0IP, 35H, 15R, 11ER, 5HR, 5BB, 25K
Bibens-Dirks ranks 10th among VEWL starting pitchers with a 2.61 ERA, though he has amassed a 1-3 record. He has allowed two or fewer earned runs in six of seven starts, but was knocked for five earned runs on October 23. He has topped out at 6.0 innings four times with all occurrences going in the books as quality starts.
Background: Bibens-Dirks enters his seventh season of winter league ball, having previously played from 2011-2013 with Zulia (VEWL), 2014 with Toros (DOWL) and 2015 with his current team Aragua. In 2016, Bibens-Dirkx started 10 games for Lancaster in independent ball (3-3, 3.81ERA) before he was signed to a minor league deal by Texas and assigned to Triple-A Round Rock. In 17 games and 13 starts with the Express, Bibens-Dirkx posted a 3-2 record with a 4.34 ERA (41ER/85.0IP).
ARMANDO RIVERO, RHP (2014-2016 w/ Iowa)
Stats: 0-0, 1.00 ERA, 9G, 9.0IP, 7H, 1R, 1ER, 1HR, 2BB, 5K
Rivero picked up right where he left off for the Tigres and has allowed just one earned run - a solo homer - over nine appearances (9.0IP). He is dominating left-handed batters, holding them to a .158 batting average. However, his strikeout rate has decreased significantly since his time in Iowa, falling from 13.97 Ks per nine innings to 5.00.
Background: Rivero is coming off a career year for the I-Cubs, having posted a 2.13 ERA with 105 strikeouts in 67.1 innings pitched. He became the first Iowa reliever in history to lead the PCL in strikeouts-per-nine-innings ratio (13.97) and opponent batting average (.169). The Cuban native signed a minor league contract with the Cubs in 2013 and has played 114 of his 160 affiliated games with Iowa.