Gutierrez Erases Doubts In Latest Workout

KISSIMMEE, Fla.—From the moment he let loose the first 93-mph fastball, Cuban righthander Vladimir Gutierrez signaled that he was putting a disappointing first year in the United States behind him.

Still unsigned more than a year after he came to the States from Cuba, Gutierrez needed to be impressive in a workout for scouts on a back field at the Astros complex. Considered one of the best young pitchers in Cuba, Gutierrez had failed to live up to expectations in previous workouts in the States.

His arm speed and his 88-93 mph fastball had backed up. The once-devastating curveball had seemingly disappeared. And his mechanics seemed disjointed and out of whack.

Scouts won’t forget Gutierrez’s struggles in previous workouts, but after a much more impressive showcase against live hitters on Thursday, Gutierrez, 20, once again looks like one of the best young Cuban arms available on the free agent market.

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When he was pitching in Serie Nacional, Gutierrez was as promising as any young arm in Cuba. Blessed with one of the best curveballs on the island, Gutierrez was the Serie Nacional Rookie of the Year as an 18-year-old in 2013-2014, then pitched even better the following season. It was expected that he would sign for significant money after he left the Cuban team at the Caribbean Series early in 2015.

But a year later, Gutierrez still hasn’t signed because until Thursday, he hadn’t shown the same stuff in workouts in the U.S. He’d switched agents three times in the past year (he’s now with the Legacy Agency) and had swapped pitching coaches.

But this last switch seems to have finally clicked.

“When I got here and showcased I wasn’t as physically and mentally prepared,” Gutierrez said, as translated by his agent Mike Maulini. “I’ve taken my time. I’ve worked on my mechanics. My fastball was running like it was in Cuba.”

Gutierrez showed better velocity than he’d ever shown before in his Thursday showcase as he sat 92-94 mph and touched 95-96 with an athletic delivery. The 80 mph curveball once again projects as a future plus pitch as he showed an excellent aptitude for spin and the curve has depth at its best. He also showed some feel to locate it.

“I stopped throwing the curveball to throw the slider, which was a mistake,” Gutierrez said. “I started working on the slider and forgot about the breaking ball, now I went back to what made me.”

His 83-84 mph changeup has improved, as it showed some deception and fade to project as at least an average offering with some scouts seeing it as potentially better than that.

Gutierrez did overthrow his fastball at times in the showcase as he’d occasionally miss significantly, especially when he was trying to locate to his glove side, but his delivery was relatively easy and effortless.

“Back then (in previous showcases) my mechanics were off. I was only using my top half. My mechanics are better and you can see the difference in my velocity,” Gutierrez said, as translated.

Dressed in a Cuban red long-sleeve baseball shirt and his Team Cuba hat, Gutierrez threw three simulated innings with breaks in between to simulate the ups and downs of a regular outing. Livan Hernandez was behind the mound watching his young protege.

“He’s got a body like my brother (El Duque),” Livan Hernandez said. “Little by little he’s gotten better. This is a process. Little by little. Now he’s ready to roll. He’s going to be an amazing big league pitcher.”

He touched 94-96 mph in the first inning, dipped to 92-93 more consistently in his second inning but once again touched 95 in the third “inning.” He pitched out of the windup and the stretch.

Blessed with an athletic but skinny frame, Gutierrez generates his velocity from long, lanky levers. The 20-year-old still has room to add strength as he matures as he has very little musculature on his upper body. He’s athletic and projectable with a fast arm and a history of success.

In other words, he’s once again showing signs that he’s worthy of a big contract. If he was eligible for the June draft, multiple scouts suggested that he’d be a first-round talent.

As a 20-year-old, Gutierrez is subject to the international signing restrictions that restrict teams from going over their signing allotments unless they are willing to pay a financial penalty equal to the signing bonus and suffer future signing restrictions.

Most teams had at least one scout at the Thursday showcase and multiple teams had more than one representative.

Gutierrez is eligible to sign at any time. He’s been eligible to sign for quite a while. But for the first time in a while now there will be numerous teams who will want to sign him.