They say it’s better to be lucky than good. Jorge Soler, however, is hoping to be both. Cuban ballplayers often score big in free agency — as their national system often gives them a leg up developmentally on teenagers from other international destinations. But with the impending change in how the international market will be governed, Soler could end up scoring bigger than most.

Billed as a potential five-tool player with plus-plus power and a very quick bat, the 20-year old outfielder stands out as a tantalizing prospect. It’s been said that he may have been one of the top five picks in last year’s draft, and since that was a loaded draft, the same might very well have been true this year. Assuming everything goes smoothly with his transition to the pros, Soler will almost assuredly be a top 50 prospect next season. Now, whether or not he eventually pans out is another story. Certainly, the track record for Cuban prospects isn’t one that guarantees success: The bloom is off the roses of two recent signees in Jose Iglesias and Leonys Martin, and guys like Juan Miranda and Brayan Pena never really worked out, either. Of course, none of those four came with Soler’s ceiling, but they serve as cautionary tales.

For reference, here’s a comprehensive — but possibly incomplete — chart of all the current Cuban-born players who signed as free agents, and the particulars of their signing:

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There has been much ado this season about all of the bullpen machinations across the game. Partially fueled by injuries to mainstay closers like Mariano Rivera, Brian Wilson and Joakim Soria, but also from managers with itchy trigger fingers, it seems like we have all needed our own Darren to keep up with the many revolving doors. But in looking at the aggregate numbers two months into the season, this year doesn’t look a whole lot different than last year.

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Since starting the season with a 12-12 record, the Rockies have lost 15 of their past 19 games. During this free-fall, the team has experienced a five, four and a six-game losing streak. Now, after 43 games, the team’s 16-27 record is tied for the third-worst in the franchise’s history. Needless to say, it’s been a bad stretch of baseball. And sadly, it was one that was all too predictable.

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Yesterday, the transformation from setup man to closer came full circle for Aroldis Chapman, as he protected a three-run lead for the Reds in earning his second career save. With the move, Sean Marshall has been consigned back to his former role of setup man. Marshall’s early failures however, don’t mean that he doesn’t have closer’s stuff.

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Since the start of 2011, the Blue Jays are tied for 26th in WAR among first basemen. Yesterday, the team sought to do something to change that mark when they demoted Adam Lind to Triple-A. The most shocking thing about the demotion may be that it took so long.

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Josh Hamilton just had himself quite a week. The Rangers’ slugger clubbed nine homers in one week, including four in one game. He hit .467/.529/1.433, for a ridiculous 1.963 OPS, and piled up 1.5 WAR, which was 0.6 more than any player in the game. As Mark Simon at ESPN showed with this heat map, Hamilton destroyed just about everything thrown his way. But just how hot was he, in a historical sense?

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The Angels haven’t had a glorious start to the season. The team’s starting pitching has sparkled, and the defense has been solid, but the hitting and bullpen work have left much to be desired. The former will be tested over the next two months, as starting catcher Chris Iannetta will be out with an fractured right wrist.

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