Yaisel Sierra

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Dodgers #30 prospect in 2018
  Sierra never experienced much success in Cuba despite premium stuff, but the Dodgers saw a powerful arm and shocked the industry when they gave him a six-year, $30 million contract in February 2016. Sierra got crushed in high Class A and was outrighted off the 40-man roster by July 4 of his first season. Sierra pitched well in the bullpen at Double-A and Triple-A in 2017. He can run his fastball up to 97 mph and mixes in a slider that flashes average, but below-average command limits his effectiveness. His contract complicates his situation. Placing Sierra back on the 40-man puts the Dodgers even higher above the luxury tax threshold and increases their competitive balance tax bill. Sierra is likely stuck in the minors no matter how well he performs, similar to the situation with Red Sox outfielder Rusney Castillo.
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  Ranked Los Angeles Dodgers #22 prospect in 2017
  Sierra was one of the better pitching prospects in Cuba, though the results never matched his potential. During Sierra's final season in Serie Nacional in Cuba, he posted a 6.10 ERA with a 55-31 strikeout-to-walk mark in 70 innings and led the league with 11 wild pitches despite pitching as a reliever. The Dodgers' made a bet that Sierra's stuff would translate into better performance, signing him to a six-year, $30 million major league deal that included a $6 million signing bonus in February 2016. They sent Sierra to high Class A Rancho Cucamonga as a starter and he struggled, with the Dodgers removing him from the 40-man roster on July 3 and putting him in the bullpen two weeks later. Sierra is already 25, but the stuff is still there. He has an athletic frame to go with clean, easy arm action and quick arm speed, delivering lively fastballs that sit 93-95 mph in relief and can touch 97. His slider flashes above-average with tight spin and late tilt to miss bats. At one point, Sierra was using his slider so frequently that the Dodgers told him he couldn't throw his slider any more until he got into a two-strike count in an attempt to get him to work more off his fastball. Sierra threw a splitter in Cuba but scrapped that for a changeup, though it's below-average. Sierra's undoing is his command. Despite an easy delivery, he misses his location and tends to leave the ball up, allowing hitters to punish his mistakes. While starting no longer appears to be in Sierra's future, he can develop into a quality middle reliever if he can figure out his command.

• November, 2016 Scouting Report
  Sierra has the best pure stuff of any Cuban pitcher on the market, though he hasn't been able to put together the performance record to match. When he's at his sharpest, Sierra looks like a mid-rotation starter, which was the case in the summer of 2014 when he mowed through the U.S. college national team lineup with seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, which came less than 24 hours after he closed the previous game with three strikeouts in 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Yet Sierra moved between starting and relieving in Cuba, with his final season coming out of the bullpen and getting ugly, with a 6.10 ERA, 55 strikeouts and 31 walks in 70 innings, along with a league-high 11 wild pitches. Sierra has a strong frame with clean, easy arm action that delivers fastballs sitting at 91-94 mph, touching 96 mph in Cuba and a tick higher since leaving. At times his fastball has plus life to his arm side, at others it rides up in the zone to get swings and misses. He can also miss bats with his slider, which flashes plus with tight spin and sharp, two-plane break, though it can flatten out on him. Sierra threw a splitter in Cuba that was an effective pitch against lefties, though he scrapped it after leaving and has since gone to a changeup instead. Sierra's poor results stem from his lack of control. He tends to fly open early and at times gets uphill in his delivery, frequently missing high and to his arm side with his fastball. In Cuba, Sierra would throw from multiple arm angles, though he now works from one higher slot to try to be more consistent with his control. He's a good athlete who fields his position well. Sierra has some similarities to Reds righthander Raisel Igelsias, with Sierra having more size but Iglesias having better onfield success his final season in Cuba. Whether he's a starter or a reliever, Sierra should begin his career in the upper minors.