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Dodgers Just Signed a New 17-Year-Old Pitcher From Culiacán, Sinaloa

He has a 92-MPH fastball and a nasty slider, sinker, curveball, and change-up. For now you can see him playing for the Toros de Tijuana until he's called up to the majors.

2:47 PM PST on February 5, 2025

Andrés Luna Román.. Photo via esto.com.mx.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have scouted and signed yet another young Mexican pitcher to their future roster. This recent right-hander is now the second Culichi pitcher the World Champion team has signed in the last 12 months.

The young talent, Andrés Luna Román, is just 17 years old.

The Culiacán, Sinaloa, native began his baseball journey at three years old in the Cuervos de Zapopan League. The signing ceremony took place at the Government Palace of Jalisco, hosted by the government's general secretary.

"I see myself playing with The Dodgers in the long term, and my dream is to have a ring," Román told reporters. "I did the showcase, and the next day, The Dodgers called me to tell me that they had already closed it."

Róman says he was in shock.

"I couldn't believe it," he said. "I was so happy to make my family proud."

Photo via Toros de Tijuana.

The young baseball player signed a contract to pitch for the Toros de Tijuana in 2024, the closest franchise of the Mexican Baseball League to Los Angeles, to continue developing his skills within the Mexican Leagues until he gets called up to train in the Dominican Republic to prepare for him the Major Leagues.

“Signing with the Toros de Tijuana helped me develop my pitching a lot and is facilitating my transition to Major League Baseball," he told reporters in the signing ceremony. "I grew up as an infielder playing 2nd and 3rd base, and I loved to bat and was a problem for other pitchers on the plate, but I switched to pitching four to five years ago, and now I love pitching."

He has a 92-MPH fastball and a nasty slider, sinker, curveball, and change-up.

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