Solid pitching staff anchors Venezuela's Premier12 roster
World No. 4 Venezuela announced their roster for the WBSC Premier12 2024 presented by Raxus. Manager Omar Lopez selected 15 pitchers in the 28-man roster to participate in Group A of the tournament in Mexico.
Starting pitchers such as Ricardo Pinto, Yohander Mendez, and Nivaldo Rodríguez (pictured) stand out in the roster, all of them with MLB experience.
Pinto has had three stints in the majors, with a total of 33 games in MLB. He appeared in six games in 2024 for the Philadelphia Phillies, earning 1 save in 10.2 innings. He also has experience in CPBL, the Mexican Baseball League and the Venezuelan League, where he's pitching for Tiburones de la Guaira.
Mendez has 20 appearances and five starts in the majors, posting a 3-3 record pitching for the Texas Rangers. In 47.2 innings he struck out 33. The lefty spetn the last two seasons pitching for the NPB Yomiuri Giants, posting a 5-7 record with a 2.56 ERA in 18 games.
Rodríguez, who shined in the U-23 Baseball World Cup 2018 leading Venezuela to a bronze medal, made the majors in 2020 with the Houston Astros. This year, the 27-year-old right hander made 26 starts in the CPBL, posting a 10-4 record with a 2.16 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He struck out 156 in 154 innings.
Other relevant arms in the Venezuelan bulpen are Anthony Vizcaya, who earned the Closer of the Year award in LVBP's last season; Max Castillo, with 21 MLB appearances in his career; and Mario Sanchez, who posted a 14-5 record in the CPBL the last campaign, with a 2.49 ERA and 167 strikeouts.
Among the position players stand out Alexi Amarista, who was the LVBP hitting leader last season, has seven MLB seasons; veteran Hernan Perez, with 10 seasons and 651 games at MLB level; and Ramon Flores, with three MLB seasons and LVBP champion bat in 2021.
This is Venezuela's roster for the Premier12:
PITCHERS: Jose Alvarez, Liarvis Breto, Max Castillo, Williams Cuevas, Enderson Franco, Pedro Garcia, Arnaldo Hernandez, Yohander Mendez, Oddanier Mosqueda, Ricardo Pinto, Nivaldo Rodriguez, Mario Sanchez, Jesus Vargas, Anthony Vizcaya, and Alfredo Zarraga.
CATCHERS: Francisco Arcia, Carlos Perez and Carlos Perez Jr.
INFIELDERS: Ehire Adrianza, Alexi Amarista, Diego Castillo, Jermain Palacios, Hernan Perez, and David Rodriguez.
OUTFIELDERS: Franklin Barreto, Ramon Flores, Angel Reyes and Herlys Rodriguez.
Venezuela will open the Premier12 in Group A, along with Mexico, Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico and USA. They will open the Premier12 against hosts Mexico on 9 November at 20 local time.