The minor league camp rosters were posted the other day by Charlie at Bucs Dugout, and one name was unfamiliar on the list. That was Diomedes Mateo, a left handed pitcher out of the Dominican Republic. Going back to the instructional league roster, I noticed that Mateo was also listed as a 6′ 2″, 179 pound left hander from San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.
So who is Mateo, and why haven’t we heard of him until now?
Yesterday I found out that Mateo was from the Dominican Academy, and the reason his name sounds unfamiliar is because he was an age/name change guy. John Dreker pointed out to me that the Pirates had an international signing in 2008 named Yoldi Sierra, who falsified his age, and was suspended. Sierra was also a left handed pitcher who was 6′ 2″, listed at 165 pounds, and from San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.
I was able to confirm that Sierra and Mateo are the same person. At the time, Sierra was listed as being born on 4/26/1992, making him 16 during the signing period in 2008, and making him 19 in the 2011 season. Mateo is listed as being born on 10/26/1989, making him 18 during the signing period in 2008, and making him 21 in the 2011 season.
So far, Mateo has only pitched three games in his career, all coming in 2009 with the DSL Pirates. In those appearances, Mateo threw eight innings, with two unearned runs on four hits, along with three walks and ten strikeouts. Since he is in minor league camp now, he should be making the jump to the US. I’d expect him to pitch in short season ball, although he could be given a more aggressive promotion, due to his age.
