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MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Highly-Touted Pitching Prospect Joins Dragons

May 1, 2009 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Dayton, Ohio-The Dayton Dragons today added pitcher J.C. Sulbaran to the roster. Sulbaran (SOO-berr-on) will start tonight's game in Beloit against the Snappers.

Pitcher Leonardo Astorga has been sent from Dayton to Billings. Astorga made four starts with the Dragons and went 0-3 with an earned run average of 18.00. The Dragons roster remains at the Midwest League limit of 25 players.

NEW ROSTER ATTACHED

Sulbaran was widely recognized as a member of Team Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic when the 19-year-old entered a game in March against Puerto Rico and struck out major league catcher Ivan Rodriguez on three pitches. Sulbaran also pitched for the Netherlands in the Olympics in Beijing in 2008.

Sulbaran will make his official professional baseball debut with the Dragons.

For more information on Sulbaran, see this article that appeared on mlb.com: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090402&content_id=4113362&vkey=news_cin&fext=.jsp&c_id=cin

Sulbaran was born in Curacao but moved to the Miami area at the age of 16 with his family. He was chosen as the Miami-area pitcher of the year in 2008 as he helped American Heritage High School in Plantation, Florida to the state championship, going 11-0 with a 1.40 earned run average. One teammate on that club, first baseman Eric Hosner, was selected with the third pick in the first round of the 2008 draft by the Kansas City Royals, while another teammate, catcher Adrian Nieto, was taken in the fifth round by the Washington Nationals.

With a commitment to play at the University of Florida, Sulbaran was not drafted until the 30th round in 2008 by the Reds. He reportedly received a $500,000 signing bonus, a record for the 30th round of the draft.

After Team Netherlands was eliminated from the World Baseball Classic in March, Sulbaran joined the Reds spring training camp in Sarasota, Florida, but suffered from a blister problem on his pitching hand that delayed the start to his season.

He was rated as the 20th best prospect in the Cincinnati Reds organization by Baseball America prior to throwing his first pitch as a professional. Sulbaran was voted the best pitcher in the 2004 Latin American Youth Baseball Tournament while playing for the Netherlands Antilles.

Curacao is an island nation located in the Carribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela. It is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and also produced veteran major league star outfielder Andruw Jones. For each of the past eight years, the baseball team from Willemstad, Curaçao has advanced to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Sulbaran is scheduled to make his first appearance at Fifth Third Field in the Dragons series vs. the Clinton Lumber Kings on the next homestand. Sulbaran's turn in the rotation will fall on Wednesday, May 6th or Thursday, May 7th.

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Midwest League Stories from May 1, 2009


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