Today “picha” Pedro, was a popular phrase in the late 1990s and early 2000s in the Dominican Republic, referring to the Cooperstown immortal Pedro Martínez, the most dominant pitcher of his generation in the Major Leagues and who was a touch curfew across the country.
This Thursday, he launches “the Cy Young”, “El Campeón” and “La Piedra”.
The three best Dominican pitchers currently in Major League Baseball; Sandy Alcántara, Framber Valdez and Luis Castillo will honor their star status on the opening day and will have the responsibility of guiding their teams to victory today in their respective commitments.
The Cy Young
Sandy Alcántara will face Max Scherzer of the New York Mets, at LoanDepot Park in the city of Miami at 4:10 pm, in what promises to be a pitching duel between two Cy Young pitchers.
The Dominican, who owns one of the most powerful sinkers in the business, is emerging as a favorite to repeat with the National League Cy Young Award this season.
Beyond his 14 wins and 2.28 ERA in 2022, Sandy proved to be the most dominant and despite not receiving offensive support from his teammates, in every game he was a guarantee of victory for the Marlins.
2023 is not projected to be any different for Sandy, who participated in the World Baseball Classic and lost to Venezuela in the only game that saw action.
The champion
Following the departure of Justin Verlander from the Astros, American League Cy Young in 2022, Palenque native Framber Valdez was designated the leader of the starting rotation by Dusty Baker and tonight he will face Dylan Cease the Chicago White Sox at Minute Maid Park in the city of Houston at 7:08 p.m.
Framber had enough merit to be considered the Most Valuable Player of the World Series, after winning two games for the Astros who beat the Phillies in six games.
He barely allowed six hits and two runs in 12.1 innings of work with 18 strikeouts. The MVP finally fell to his compatriot Jeremy Peña.
Valdez is currently second to no one on a mound and for that reason could be securing a well-deserved contract extension with the world champions.
The stone
Luis Castillo will have his first full season with the Seattle Mariners and will pitch today against the Cleveland Guardians and their star Shane Bieber at 10:10 pm at T-Mobile Park in the city of Seattle.
“La Piedra”, who signed a contract extension for five seasons and 108 million dollars, was a key player in the Mariners’ advance to the playoffs last season, which he described as an unforgettable experience.
And for this year the expectations of the right-handed pitcher are very high, with his deadly slider and powerful fastball he has the task of recording the best season of his career in the majors. The three criollos have the potential to be successful in the Major Leagues…
Can they generate passion among crowds? time will tell.
His opponents…
Max Scherzer vs. Sandy
The 38-year veteran worked in 23 games fanning out 173 batters in 145 innings.
Dylan Cease vs. Framber
He was second in voting for the AL Cy Young Award in 2022 with 227 strikeouts in 184 innings.
Shane Bieber vs. Luis
A dominant pitcher who posted a 2.88 ERA in 200 innings of work last season.