Peru State's Castillo Makes Colombian National Team Roster

(Peru, Neb.) – The Colombian Baseball Federation (FCB) announced their 26-man national team roster for the upcoming World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Baseball Americas Qualifier, an Olympic qualifier, which opens Monday, May 31, in Florida.
 
Peru State baseball player Daniel Castillo was selected as one of 14 pitchers for the Colombian team. Castillo recently graduated from Peru State after playing for the Bobcats for a couple of years.
 
Castillo commented, "This achievement I have recently received is all because of the outstanding work my teammates and I accomplished last season. I want to thank God for all the blessings he

places in my life every day. I am beyond proud to be representing Peru State College in qualifying for the Olympic Games."
 
In his one and one-half seasons at Peru State (2020 cut short due to COVID-19), Castillo pitched in 23 contests – starting 11 of those. He finished with an 8-5 record and had two complete games. In his 86.2 innings tossed, Castillo allowed 72 runs – 64 earned and finished with a 6.65 earned run average. He had 95 strikeouts while giving up just 26 walks.
 
Castillo was named the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) Pitcher of the week in April after picking up two of the Bobcats' wins during the week. During the week, Castillo only walked one batter in his 14 innings of pitching as he had two complete games.
 
Bobcat head coach Wayne Albury was very proud of Castillo. Albury stated, "I am very happy that Daniel has this great and exciting opportunity. He worked hard while he was at Peru State, not only on getting better as a pitcher, but he worked hard to earn his bachelor's degree."
 
Colombia's manager Jair Fernandez selected these players:
 
PITCHERS (14) Reiver Sanmartín, Erick Julio, Carlos Ocampo, Jasier Herrera, Yohan Pino, Sugar Ray Marimón, Erling Moreno, Randy Consuegra, Jean Ruiz, Jaider Rocha, Kevin Escorcia, Yeizer Marrugo, Sergio Palacios, Daniel Castillo.

CATCHERS (3) Carlos Martínez, Andrés Santiago Angulo, Gustavo Campero.

INFIELDERS (5) Jeter Downs, Jordan Díaz, Derwin Pomare, Brallan Pérez, Mauricio Ramos

OUTFIELDERS (4) Jerry Downs, Brayan Buelvas, John Torres, Luis Castro.
 
Top prospect Jeter Downs is the player to watch and one of the 12 Colombians on the national team who are under contract with MLB organizations. 22-year old is currently playing at the Triple-A level for the Boston Red Sox. Third baseman Jordan Diaz, born in 2000, is a top prospect in the Oakland A's organization.
 
Colombian Winter League veteran Sugar Ray Marimón leads a 14-player pitching staff. The 32-year old right-hander has played for the Atlanta Braves and the KT Wiz of Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
 
Left-hander Reiver Sanmartín is another player to watch. The 25-year old this season has proven to be almost unhittable at the Double-A level for the Cincinnati Reds.
 
The coaching staff serving under Fernandez includes bench coach Jhonatan Solano, pitching coach Teofilo Gutierrez, hitting coach Jorge Cortez, bullpen coach Jaime del Valler, third base coach José Mosquera and first base coach Ronald Ramirez de la Rosa.
 
Many of the top baseball nations in the world will be competing in the WBSC qualifier, which grants one place in the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
 
The Olympic qualifier takes place from May 31 to June 5 at Clover Park and The Ballpark of the West Palm Beaches.
 
Six national teams competed in the WBSC Premier 12 2019 and received an automatic spot: Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, USA, and Venezuela. Nicaragua and Colombia earned their spots via the Pan Am Games Lima 2019, as the top two teams in the final standings among the countries that did not participate in the Premier 12 2019.
 
World No. 14 Colombia will start the qualifier out of Group B and will play against No. 13 Canada on May 31.
 
They will then face No. 8 Venezuela on June 1 and will close the opening round against No. 7 Cuba on June 2.
 
Group A includes world No. 2 USA, No. 10 Dominican Republic, No. 11 Puerto Rico and No. 15 Nicaragua.