Jupiter: Raudel Lazo, LHP

[Miamarlin21]

Anyone know anything about this Cuban defector? He's kinda come out of no where. He was an All-Star for Jupiter this year and boasts a 5-1 record with a 1.42 ERA with a 36/9 K/BB ratio in 38 innings pitched.

Here he is pitching in the 2012 All-Star game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlKKc...ailpage#t=130s

[Mainge]

He's a little old. /adds nothing

Also mm21, good job mentioning K:BB Ratio. For future reference, you should also mention innings pitched so we have a quick glance at what his K and walk rates are. Good job, you're learning.
--------------------
Also try to leave out W/L Record. It's pretty meaningless, especially so for a reliever.

[McLevin]

Shouldn't it be simplified to a 4:1 K:BB ratio?

[Mainge]

Baby steps, Mcluh. Baby steps.

[Miamarlin21]

Promoted to Triple-A New Orleans.
--------------------
Well he was. Now he's back in Jupiter.

[emkayseven]

LHP Raudel Lazo who defected from Cuba in 2011 and made strides in 2012 during his first professional season, is getting a look in spring training.

http://www.wdbj7.com/sports/sns-rt-b...,5030066.story
--------------------

Among the young pitchers the Marlins are excited to see in spring training is LHP Raudel Lazo, 23, who defected from Cuba in 2011 and made strides in 2012 during his first professional season.

Lazo posted a 2.44 ERA in 42 relief appearances -- 41 with Class A Jupiter and one with Class AAA New Orleans. He is 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, but he throws a mid-90s fastball with a solid changeup and a good slider.

"People sometimes overlook him because he is small, but he is a hard worker," said Jose Fernandez, Miami's top-ranked pitching prospect who's also Lazo's roommate.

Lazo, who projects to be a situational reliever, probably will open the season at Class AA Jacksonville. However, if he continues his climb, he could debut with the Marlins later this year or next year.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...0.story?page=2

[emkayseven]

JUPITER — They couldn't be more different. One is left-handed, the other right-handed. One is generously listed at 5-10, 175 pounds, and the other is nicknamed "the Cuban Skyscraper."

Perhaps the greatest dissimilarity between Marlins prospect Raudel Lazo and his legendary cousin, Pedro Luis Lazo: only one wanted out.

The elder Lazo is the winningest pitcher in Cuban National Series history, with 257 victories. In a December 2012 interview with the website Swing Completo (Complete Swing), Pedro Luis Lazo said he walked away from $30 million to $35 million to defect to the United States while in his prime.

"I never had the dream of playing in the major leagues," he said. "It never crossed my mind."

That wasn't the case for Raudel Lazo, who was teammates with the elder Lazo on the Pinar del Rio team in the 2008 and 2009 Cuban National Series. As a 19-year-old rookie, Raudel was thinking about professional baseball in the United States.

No one knew.

"I didn't talk about that with anybody," he said. "I carried that inside. …The dream was always to come here and play big leagues. I really became focused on it when I left and began training in Mexico."

Raudel Lazo defected alone in 2010, through Mexico, and in March 2011 was declared a free agent. Eight months later, the Marlins signed him for $60,000. So far it looks like a bargain.

In his first season as a reliever for advanced-A Jupiter, Lazo went 7-1 with a 2.44 ERA, 16 walks and 61 strikeouts in 59 innings. That was good enough to earn an invitation to big-league camp.

The typical Florida State League player can't boast two seasons of Cuban National Series experience, which for Lazo showed through unflappability and mound presence.

"We knew nothing about him," said Marty Scott, Marlins vice president of player development. "As far as grit and determination, and I guess you could say big cojones, this guy is unbelievable. He goes right at hitters. He's fearless. He's got good stuff."

That stuff became markedly better during the course of last season. Lazo opened the campaign sitting at 88-90 miles per hour with his fastball. By season's end he was consistently hitting 93-94. J.T. Realmuto, one of Lazo's catchers in Jupiter, said his slider and changeup developed as well.

"You don't see many guys his size throwing that hard, so I'm sure it deceives a few hitters," Realmuto said. "When you see a little guy like that get on the mound, you don't expect him to be throwing the ball by you.

"He gets right-handers out just as easy as left-handers. He's got a good-enough fastball to where he can go in to righties. He can go away, and then his changeup is a phenomenal pitch for righties. It's real hard for them to see. You see them struggle a lot with his changeup."

Lazo no longer is in regular contact with his cousin, who retired from the National Series in December 2010. Pedro Luis Lazo did return to action last season, when he received permission to pitch for the Campeche Pirates of the Mexican League.

"For me, it was a dream," Raudel Lazo said of teaming with his cousin for two seasons. "As a rookie, I felt proud. I didn't think I would make the team that year, but with work and effort, thank God I made it and I had good results."

The work and effort now, as they were then, are aimed at reaching the majors.

http://touch.sun-sentinel.com/#secti.../p2p-74634983/

[HUGG]

"We knew nothing about him," said Marty Scott, Marlins vice president of player development.

sounds about right