In the U23 World Cup tournament in Colombia on Thursday, Fabricio Macias had a strong game at the plate. He came into the day with a .333 average in the tournament and went 2-for-3 with two singles, a walk and a hit-by-pitch, as he helped Team Mexico to a 10-4 win over Venezuela.
Macias split his first season of pro ball between Morgantown and West Virginia. After a slow start, he put up an .814 OPS in his last 26 games. His season was delayed while he waited for MLB to approve his contract. That was an issue that all players from Mexico had earlier this year and now all amateur signings out of Mexico are on hold by MLB while they try to work out something with the leagues in the country.
Victor Ngoepe started at shortstop after playing second base earlier in the tournament. He went 0-for-2 with two walks, a run scored and a stolen base. Ngoepe is 2-for-18 during the World Cup.
Robbie Glendinning went 0-for-4 with a strikeout, giving him a .174/.208/.261 slash line in 23 at-bats.
On Thursday night in the Dominican, Pablo Reyes went 1-for-5 with a single and his first RBI. After playing five different positions in his first nine days (seven games) of winter ball, he has started at second base in each of the last three games. He’s hitting .211 and is still looking for his first extra-base hit.
Alfredo Reyes had a rough game, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. We have mentioned often that he is a strong defensive player with a cannon for an arm, but it doesn’t hurt to add more. He’s been getting a lot of praise in the Dominican league this winter for his defense at shortstop.
