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Former Blue Jays prospect Yosver Zulueta makes MLB debut with Reds

Originally posted on Bluejaysnation | By Nick Prasad | Last updated Jun 26, 2024 11:21 AM ET

A former Toronto Blue Jays farmhand made his Major League debut on Tuesday, as right-handed fireballer Yosver Zulueta pitched three innings in relief for the Cincinnati Reds.

The right-hander was called up yesterday to the big club and was summoned without a doubt. The Cincinnati Reds took on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cincinnati took a 9-5 loss. Hunter Green was Cincy’s starting arm who went four innings and was relieved by Buck Farmer for one.

Zulueta was called on third-up. He threw three innings giving up one hit, one earned run, walked two and struck out five. He threw 51 pitches, 29 of those being strikes, well over the 50% mark. He had 10 called strikes, two swinging strikes and six strikes in play.

The right-hander was fairly composed for his first time in the bigs. The ball came out of his hand well with good tempo and flow. Zulueta worked strategically with good use of pitch-options and was located well. His breaking pitches stole the limelight. It showed more usage than the four-seam fastball. Zulueta clocked his sinker up to 96 mph while executing this sweeper well.

Yosver Zulueta’s first major league strikeout! pic.twitter.com/tVTwhrUabB

— Milb Central (@milb_central) June 26, 2024

The former top 30-ranked Blue Jays prospect was highly anticipated in Toronto. He left Cuba and on June 11th, 2019, signed with the Blue Jays for $1M as an international free agent. In the spring of 2024, Zulueta was putting up numbers with regard to stats and metrics.

Zulueta looked major league ready and awaited Toronto to give him the opportunity for the big stage. Unfortunately, he was claimed on waivers by the Reds in March of 2024. Teams in need of enhancing their future pitching situations saw high value in such a prospect and also understood where he stood in terms of positioning with Toronto.

The Cuban righty started 2024 in Louisville AAA where he posted a 2.93 ERA with 39 strikeouts, 20 walks and 27 hits. He was a 4.11 RA9. Zulueta is highly projectable with much to offer. His ability to force ground-ball outs along with working counts and seating hitters will be traits missed by the Blue Jays. The righty was projected to be a high-quality starter.

This article first appeared on Bluejaysnation and was syndicated with permission.

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