Vladimir Gutiérrez
Vladimir Gutiérrez Rodríguez
- Born September 18, 1995 in Mantua, Pinar del Río Cuba
Biographical Information[edit]
Vladimir Gutiérrez was a Rookie of the Year in Cuba before defecting to the United States and reaching the majors in 2021.
Gutiérrez had a 4.76 ERA in two games in the opening rounds of the 2013 World Junior Championship, saving a win over Australia. In the Bronze Medal game, he put out a fire against Taiwan, fanning 7 and allowing two walks, one hit and no runs in 6 1/3 IP to get the win in relief of Ruben Hernandez. Gutiérrez then was 5-5 with a 3.90 ERA in 27 games as a rookie for the Pinar del Río Vegueros in 2013-2014 to win Serie Nacional Rookie of the Year. He was only the second Vequeros player ever to win; Reniel Capote had done so 20 years earlier. He remained hot in the finals as the team topped the Matanzas Crocodiles for the title, 4 games to 2. Vladimir tossed six shutout innings of relief to win game 2 and even the series after starter Julio Martinez struggled. He allowed one run in 2 1/3 IP in the clincher, replacing Yosvani Torres and being relieved in the 9th by Vladimir Baños. The 18-year-old had a 2.13 ERA for the postseason.
He pitched two shutout innings, fanning three and allowing two hits, when the Cuban national team won Gold in the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games. He was 3-5 with 13 saves and a 2.45 ERA in the 2014-2015 Serie Nacional, second in the league in saves, eight shy of José Angel García.
Gutiérrez defected from Pinar del Río when they were playing in the 2015 Caribbean Series in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Teammate Dainer Moreira also defected at the same time. He signed with the Cincinnati Reds; the scouts were Tony Arias, Chris Buckley and Bob Engle. He was 7-8 with a 4.46 ERA for the '17 Daytona Tortugas, walking only 19 in 103 innings.
He was 9-10 with a 4.35 ERA for the 2018 Pensacola Blue Wahoos, fanning 145 in 147 IP. He led Reds farmhands in whiffs, eight ahead of Packy Naughton. He was also third in the Southern League, behind Taylor Widener and Nick Neidert. Baseball America had him rated as the #7 prospect in the Reds chain, between Tyler Stephenson and Mike Siani. He really slipped in '19, going 6-11 with a 6.04 ERA for the Louisville Bats. He was second in the 2019 IL in losses, three behind Keury Mella.
Vladimir was 1-4 with a 3.21 ERA for the 2019-2020 Tigres del Licey. The 2020 minor league season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He went 1-2 with a 3.71 ERA for Licey in 2020-2021. He began 2021 well with Louisville (2-0, 2.65) and then was called up with Wade Miley injured. He had a fine MLB debut, retiring his first five batters (Joc Pederson, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Ian Happ, Willson Contreras) before walking Rafael Ortega. In five innings, he allowed only two hits and two walks, fanning three; a David Bote solo homer was the sole blemish. Heath Hembree relieved; Gutiérrez took the loss as Adbert Alzolay and three relievers turned in a shutout.
Sources[edit]
Further Reading[edit]
- Jesse Sanchez: "Cuban pitcher reportedly seeks asylum in Puerto Rico: Gutierrez, 19, defected at Caribbean Series", mlb.com, February 5, 2015. [1]
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