Luis Lugo (minors04)

Luis Eduardo Lugo Lareschi

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 5", Weight 200 lb.

• Born March 5, 1994 in Barquisimeto, Lara Venezuela

BR register page

Biographical Information

Luis Lugo has pitched in the US, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Italy.

Lugo was signed by Cleveland Indians scout Ramon Pena and Antonio Caballero in February 2011. He split the summer between the DSL Indians (0-3, 3.38 in 9 G) and AZL Indians (0-2, 6.14 in 3 G). Despite going winless, he struck out 44 in 36 2/3 IP. In 2012, he was 2-4 with a 4.50 ERA for the AZL Indians, whiffing 51 in 42 innings. Baseball America rated him as Cleveland's #13 prospect entering 2013. That summer, he pitched for the Lake County Captains (0-1, 3.77 in 3 G) and Mahoning Valley Scrappers (1-4, 1.97 in 11 G). Had he qualified, he would have been second in the New York-Penn League in ERA, .01 behind Michael Feliz.

The lefty had his first winning record in 2014, with a 10-9, 4.92 record for the Captains. He continued to strike out plenty, with 146 Ks in 126 1/3 IP. He tied Buck Farmer, Kevin Ziomek and Austin Kubitza for 6th in the Midwest League in wins and was third in whiffs (behind Kyle Lloyd and Ziomek). He led Indians farmhands in strikeouts (two ahead of Adam Plutko) and tied for 4th in wins with Tyler Cloyd, Shawn Morimando and Toru Murata. He moved up to the Lynchburg Hillcats in 2015, going 8-10 wit ha 4.15 ERA. He tied Anderson Polanco for 7th in the Cleveland chain with 119 K and was 3rd in the Carolina League after Mitch Horacek and Jakob Junis.

Having an Italian passport , he pitched for the Italian national team in the 2015 Premier 12. He got one start and allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits and three walks in five innings against Team Canada, fanning seven in a loss to Jared Mortensen; fellow Barquisimeto native Carlos Teran relieved. He remained at Lynchburg for 2016, going 8-5 with a 4.04 ERA. He fell to 9th in the Indians chain in Ks (113, between Sean Brady and Triston McKenzie), 7th in the Carolina League (between Brady and Lucas Long). He was on the Italian team for the 2016 European Championship but did not get into a game for the Bronze Medalists.

In the 2017 World Baseball Classic, he started against Puerto Rico (2 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 4 R, 3 ER) before Jordan Romano relieved. He was 9th on the 14-man staff in ERA as Italy was hit hard. He made it to AA with the Akron RubberDucks in 2017 and went 8-7 with a 4.35 ERA. That winter, he pitched for his hometown Cardenales de Lara and was 1-0 despite 11 runs (10 earned), 15 hits and 8 walks in 13 1/3 IP. Out of the Cleveland chain, he signed with Parma in Italy and was 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA, striking out 37 in 16 innings in 2018 Serie A1. He also pitched for Italy in the 2018 Haarlem Baseball Week, turning in strong starts against both Japan and Germany in pitching duels. He was 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA, 20 K and only 4 hits in 13 innings. He allowed the lowest average in the event (.103, .018 ahead of Rob Cordemans) and struck out the most (one ahead of Hiroshi Kaino).

His impressive work in Italy earned him a return trip to the US, signing with the Kansas City Royals later in '18 and going 1-2 with a 4.18 ERA for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. He pitched for Italy in the 2018 Super6, getting the first win in Super6 history by beating Germany (Filippo Crepaldi closed it out). He later got a crucial win over previously unbeaten Spain, beating fellow Venezuelan (and fellow Barquisimeto native) Richard Castillo; Andrea Pizziconi saved that win that gave Italy a second-place finish. He was the only pitcher with multiple wins in the first Super6, led in IP (12, 3 ahead of Radim Chroust and Lowuin Sacramento), led in Ks (13, 4 ahead of Orlando Yntema and Sacramento), tied Chroust for the most starts and was 6th in ERA (between Sacramento and Artuur Driessens). The Iowa Cubs then took him in the minor league portion of the 2018 Rule 5 Draft.