Brewers prospect Lopez faces a big year
PHOENIX – When Hurricane Maria blasted Puerto Rico on Sept. 20 of last year with devastating results, Jorge Lopez was at home in the central mountain village of Cayey with his wife Karla and 4-year-old son Mikael.
Lopez, 25, knew the storm was expected to cause significant damage but never imagined the scope of the destruction. When Maria finally cleared, Puerto Rico was left in ruins, and far too many areas are still trying to recover.
With the power out and no sign of being restored, the Milwaukee Brewers pitching prospect knew he couldn’t stay there with Mikael, who has needed special medical attention since being born with Familial Mediterranean fever, a hereditary inflammatory disorder that affects the lining of the abdomen, chest and joints.
“We had to move to Miami so he could get medical care and all that,” said Lopez, a 25-year-old right-hander trying to re-establish a footing in the organization after a couple of tough seasons.
“I left (the rest of) my family back
(in Cayey). They had no money, no electricity, no gas or water. Not much food. All the primary things were missing. It was bad. I never thought (the devastation) was going to be that big.
“We were at my wife’s parents’ house when it came. It destroyed everything. Nobody had a way to get to their families. All the roads were blocked.”
The slow pace with which the United States government responded to the crisis has been well documented. Beyond the sheering off of the topography by the fierce winds of Maria, many homes remain destroyed and it has become evident that things never will be quite the same in Puerto Rico.
“It’s better but it took a long time,” Lopez said. “There are still areas in the central part of the island that need help. Many families are having trouble. As a Puerto Rican, you think about it every day. It has made the people come together there. That’s the biggest thing that came from that.”
Baseball long has been a beloved part of life on the island. But, with many stadiums in shambles, and vital supplies needed elsewhere to keep citizens alive, it quickly became clear that the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League would not be conducting business as usual over the winter.
Many Puerto Rican players scattered to other areas of the Caribbean to continue their careers and make money to help their families recover. Lopez was invited to join the Aguilas of Zulia club in the Dominican Republic, and he performed just as superbly as in previous winters back home, going 3-2 with a 2.49 earned run average over 13 starts, with a 1.150 WHIP over 682⁄3 innings.
Brewers second baseman Jonathan Villar and catcher Christian Bethancourt, who signed a minor-league deal with Milwaukee over the winter, were teammates with Aguilas, which won the Dominican championship. After years of pitching for Puerto Rico, Lopez had to go to a rival country to win a title.
“I got a ring,” he said. “That’s pretty funny that someone from Puerto Rico got a ring in the Dominican. I didn’t expect anything.”
Back in Puerto Rico, the recovery from Maria made enough progress for four teams to hit the field for an abbreviated 21-game schedule. Caguas won the title, represented the league in the Caribbean Series in Guadalajara, Mexico, and in an unexpected and karmic development, won the coveted crown.
“It was amazing when Puerto Rico sent a team to the Caribbean Series and won,” said Lopez. “Our island needed that. Baseball is so important to the people there. It gave them something to make them happy.”
On that note, Lopez reported to the Brewers’ spring camp uncertain what the future would hold for him. After scuffling for a second consecutive season in his customary starting role, the former second-round draft pick was shifted to relief duty in 2017 at Class AA Biloxi with hopes the change would ignite a spark.
The switch in roles was moderately successful. After going 3-6 with a 4.61 ERA in 26 starts, Lopez posted a 5-2 record with a 3.62 ERA and seven saves in 13 relief outings.
With the Brewers in need of an extra arm in their bullpen, Lopez was called up on June 29 and pitched two innings in Cincinnati (four hits, one run) before being returned to Biloxi the next day. Having survived another off-season on the 40-man roster, he has little or no chance of making the big-league club this spring, and has pitched just one inning in "A" competition.
What remains to be seen is where Lopez will begin the season. He selfdestructed in 2016 when assigned to Class AAA Colorado Springs, a highaltitude venue notoriously tough on pitchers, going 1-7 with a 6.81 ERA in 17 games before being demoted to Biloxi.
Lopez lost both his curveball and confidence in Colorado Springs but has not regressed to that level of play since the meltdown. He remains a starter at heart but the current plan is to keep him in relief, with a likely assignment with the Sky Sox to give him another chance to succeed there.
“Although we still feel Jorge has the repertoire to start, we think the best way to prepare him to help in the big leagues this year is by having him pitch out of the pen,” Brewers farm director Tom Flanagan said.
“He certainly hit some rough patches over the last year or so but we feel he started to turn the corner a bit last year working out of the pen at Biloxi, and then carried that success into winter ball. This will be a big year for Jorge, and we feel he has a chance to take some big steps forward.”
Having survived storms, both literal and figurative, Lopez has been a survivor. Now, it's up to him to move forward.