Dominicans in 2010 MLB (Update #2)

There is a lot going on with Dominican Players in MLB right now.  This is an obvious fact since there were around 80 Dominicans on opening day rosters.  This number will fluctuate throughout the season as players are called up to the big show, or sent down to the minors, but the Dominican Baseball Guy thinks there should be at least 80 Dominicans in the big leagues all year.  So, some of these Dominicans will surely continue to make news.

Ubaldo Jimenez and Francisco Liriano continue to pitch well as starters, as the Dominican Baseball Guy stated a few posts back.  Jimenez is definitely a front runner for National League Cy Young at this point.

Vladimir Guerrero is playing very well for the Rangers.  He is in the top 10 in the American League in average and RBI right now.  Guerrero has long been a favorite player of the Dominican Baseball Guy.  He is a .322 lifetime hitter, an incredible lifetime average for someone that also hits for power.  He was the AL MVP in 2004 and has 4 Silver Slugger awards.  He also has a great arm in the outfield and the Dominican Baseball Guy has seen him throw out many runners from right field.  He had a walk off hit a few days ago too.

Alfonso Soriano and Robinson Cano are also off to good starts.  They are both from San Pedro de Macoris, the city highlighted in the new book, The Eastern Stars: How Baseball Changed the Dominican Town of San Pedro de Macoris.

Jose Bautista has played well for the Blue Jays.  Albert Pujols is doing his normal thing, batting like 1.000 with runners in scoring position and churning out his normal triple crown contending numbers.  Jose Guillen and Nelson Cruz have hit well, although Nelson Cruz has been injured some.

Interesting that the Dominican Baseball Guy does not mention some of the most famous Dominican ballplayers like Pedro Martinez and David Ortiz.  There is a new crop of Dominicans playing in MLB and there will be another group behind them, as there are no shortage of Dominican prospects in the minor leagues.