Yoenis Cespedes' brother steals the show in Caribbean Series opener
Yoelkis Cespedes, the 19-year-old brother of Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, has officially arrived.
The younger Cespedes is currently representing the Cuban club Granma in the Caribbean Series, which opened play on Wednesday in Culiacan, Mexico. And it didn’t take him long at all to make his major-league brother proud or do the Cespedes name justice.
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In fact, in Gramma’s 4-0 win against the Dominican Republic’s Tigres de Licey, Yoelkis Cespedes made the play of the game in the outfield, diving to make an outstanding catch before bouncing to his feet and completing a double play with a rocket throw to first base.
Gran atrapada de Yoelkis Céspedes en el jardín derecho y completando la doble matanza en la primera #Joyita ????????⚾ pic.twitter.com/arDrjf4PjP
— Serie del Caribe (@Culiacan2017) February 1, 2017
Yeah, that looked an awful lot like big brother Yoenis. Especially once it came time to fire up the arm. Yoenis Cespedes unquestionably has one of the strongest arms around in MLB. Now it’s pretty clear that Yoelkis Cespedes has a similarly strong and accurate arm, to go with a flair for the dramatic that seemingly runs in the family.
Yoelkis also contributed at the plate, delivering a run-scoring single in the fifth inning. He’d later score on a double, helping to punctuate Granma’s win.
It’s not just his name that’s fueling Yoelkis Cespedes’ hype. He appears to be a legitimate prospect. He hit .297 with six home runs and 45 RBIs in 90 games for Granma, which is the same team Yoenis represented before defecting and signing with the Oakland Athletics. As it stands now, many scouts regard Yoelkis as a potential five-tool player, which is the same reports we heard on Yoenis many years ago.
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“They’ve told me that I’m a five-tool player,” Yoelkis told MLB.com after Wednesday’s win. “I pay attention to those people, but I don’t get overconfident because of that.”
As for his inevitable comparisons to his brother.
“Yes, I’m pressured by that. Like I said before, they compare me to my brother, and that motivates me to be a better player.”
Yoelkis Cespedes seems to have an outlook and attitude that matches his ability. That’s encouraging, but only time will tell if the next Cespedes is the best Cespedes.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
