Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Two of Cuba’s top players, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Yulieski Gurriel have defected from Cuba following the Caribbean Series, which ended Sunday.
The brothers are part of a family that’s considered baseball royalty in Cuba.
The 22-year-old Lourdes is widely thought of as Cuba’s top young prospect, while his 31-year-old brother Yulieski was arguably the best player left on the island.
Both have repeatedly expressed a desire to leave the island legally and with the permission of the Cuban government. With that seemingly impossible, the brothers took matters into their own hands and made the move following the series.
Yulieski Gurriel is a 6-0, 196 pounds third baseman / second baseman. In 2015, he played 23 games with Industriales’ de Le Habana, hitting .535 with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs. During the series with Industriales’, Gurriel walked 15 times and struck out just once. He is considered to be MLB-ready at this point.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr., is a 6-4, 185 pound infielder with as bright a future as any young player in Cuba. He was the Industriales’ most-used shortstop in 2014-2015 and also saw action at 3B, LF and 2B. Gurriel Jr. hit .308/.388/.466 with 42 RBI in 63 games. he was hitting .321 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs in 43 games for the Havana Industriales this season.
The brothers are the youngest members of the first family of baseball in Cuba. Oldest brother Yunieski, 33, won two MVP Awards during his 16 seasons in Serie Nacional. Their father, Lourdes Gurriel Sr., played for the national team for 15 years and won a gold medal, two batting titles and an MVP Award in Cuba. They also had an uncle, great uncle and cousin were stars in Cuba.
Lourdes is currently and would be subject to international signing guidelines established by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, however he will become exempt on his 23rd birthday. Given how long it takes for players to defect and become eligible to sign, this shouldn’t be an issue. Yulieski is 31 and automatically exempt.
The brothers last name is sometimes spelled Gourriel.
