There's Another Cespedes And He's Got A Great Arm, Too

When the world first got a look at Yoenis Cespedes in his insane showcase video in 2011, Kevin Goldstein—then of Baseball Prospectus and now Director of Pro Scouting for the Astros—declared him “arguably the best all-around player to come out of Cuba in a generation.” Now, a second Cespedes will try to reach that hype.

Yoelkis Cespedes, Yoenis’s 19-year-old half-brother, is already a force to be reckoned. Right now, his talents are on an international stage at the Caribbean Series in Mexico.

Yoelkis batted ninth in yesterday’s 4-0 victory over the Dominican Republic’s Tigres del Licey. He went 1-for-4 with a run scored and made a diving catch in the outfield to double up the runner at first.

MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez spoke to Yoelkis, who said people have described him as a “five-tool player” and compared him to his All-Star older brother. “I pay attention to those people,” he said, “but I don’t get overconfident because of that.”

At 5-foot-9 and 187 pounds, compared to the 5-foot-10, 220-pound Yoenis, baby Cespedes lacks the power of his brother, but he has tremendous speed and almost the exact same swing. Look at him beat out a bunt (admittedly against terrible defense) for a single at the start of this compilation:

Plus, he has something his older brother didn’t: Yoenis Cespedes giving him pointers. “He always calls me to tell me what I’m doing right or wrong,” Yoelkis said.

[ MLB]