Twins Prospect Yorman Landa Dies In Car Accident

Yorman Landa (Photo by Mike Janes)

Yorman Landa, a Florida State League all-star and righthander with a triple-digit fastball, was killed in car accident Friday night in his native Venezuela.

Landa was 22.

“The Minnesota Twins are deeply saddened by the heartbreaking loss of Yorman Landa early this morning in Venezuela,” Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey said in a statement. “On behalf of the entire baseball community, we send our sincerest condolences to the Landa family as well as Yorman’s many friends, coaches and teammates.”

The Twins had just re-signed the righthander to a minor league deal on Tuesday, just a few days after he was not tendered a contract to clear him from Minnesota’s 40-man roster.

Landa had a high-octane fastball, hitting 102 mph at the FSL all-star game, and running his fastball into the high 90s with regularity. He missed the second half of the season with a lat strain, but was expected to be fine for spring training.

Landa was Minnesota’s No. 23 prospect entering the season. He was signed in 2010 for a six-figure bonus and was considered one of the better talents in that year’s international class. Originally a starter, he moved to the bullpen in 2014 and used his powerful fastball and late-breaking slider to rack up strikeouts, but his command was inconsistent. He overcame surgery to repair a torn labrum in 2014 and reached high Class A for the first time in 2016.

Landa was 14-13, 2.66 ERA and struck out 8.6 batters per nine innings.