Baseball has a long and storied connection with Cuba, producing legends like Minnie Miñoso, Luis Tiant, and, more recently, sluggers like José Abreu and Yordan Alvarez. That pipeline may have delivered its next rising star to the Colorado Rockies in Yanquiel Fernández, who is now on the big-league roster.
His arrival is serendipitous with the Houston Astros, who happen to employ Alvarez, a player that many hope Fernández can compare to.
Comparing any minor leaguer to Alvarez is ambitious, bordering on reckless. The 2019 AL Rookie of the Year and 2021 ALCS MVP is a generational left-handed hitter with a .