Marcos Yepez

Marco Michael Yepez

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 160 lb.

• Born December 29, 1981 in Caracas, Distrito Capital Venezuela

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Marcos Yepez spent 11 seasons in the minor leagues then went to Italy to play.

Yepez started off in the Florida Marlins chain. He hit .255/.414/.316 with 27 walks in 41 games for Ciudad Alianza in the 1999 Venezuelan Summer League. In 2000, he batted .209/.379/.297 for Universidad de Carabobo. Back with Ciudad Alianza in 2001, he improved to .299/.395/.457 with 19 steals in 26 tries, 31 walks and 46 runs in 56 games. Coming stateside with the GCL Marlins in 2002, Yepez hit a solid .286/.397/.401 with 35 walks in 58 games and 19 stolen bases in 27 attempts. He led the Gulf Coast League in walks and was third with 15 doubles. He played primarily shortstop but saw some action at second.

That winter, the Montreal Expos chose Yepez in the AAA phase of the 2002 Rule 5 Draft. The Caracas native hit .264/.335/.344 for the 2003 Savannah Sand Gnats with 28 steals in 38 tries. His batting eye, so good his first four seasons, apparently vanished, or the Expos changed his batting style, as he drew just 35 walks in 108 games.

Marcos split 2004 between Savannah (.238/.329/.328 in 77 G) and Brevard County Manatees (.226/.305/.302 in 16 G). In 2005, he produced at a .270/.345/.365 rate for the Potomac Nationals. Yepez split 2006 between Potomac (.268/.332/.373, 20 SB, 12 CS in 87 G) and the Harrisburg Senators (.275/.323/.363 in 27 G).

The infielder bounced around in 2007 between Potomac (.307/.386/.391, 9 SB, 10 CS in 44 G), Harrisburg (.291/.360/.350 in 63 G) and the Columbus Clippers (1 for 4, BB, 2 E in his first AAA appearances). In 2008, he hit .251/.344/.359 for Harrisburg.

Yepez spent 2009 with the Syracuse Chiefs, hitting .255/.330/.304. Overall, he had hit .268/.347/.356 in 8 seasons in the US-based minors. For 2010, he signed with Parma in Italy. He debuted as their #2 hitter and shortstop on Opening Day and went 0 for 3 with a walk in a 1-0 loss to T&A San Marino. For the regular season, he hit .307/.368/.395 with 37 runs and 31 RBI. He tied Max De Biase for fourth in RBI and tied Carlos Duran and Stefano De Simoni for the most runs despite not finishing in the top 10 in average, OBP or slugging.

He was MVP of the 2010 Italian Series, hitting .464/.500/.607 with four doubles and seven RBI in seven games to help Parma win its first title in 13 years. In game seven, he broke a 1-1 tie in the 5th with a double off Jesus Matos to score De Simoni with the winner in a 2-1 victory.

Yepez became a manager with the DSL Tigers in 2017 and a coach with the DSL Tigers 2 in 2018. He then managed the DSL Tigers 2 in 2019 and DSL Tigers 1 in 2022-2023.