His name is Miguel Vargas. He is 18 years old and is the son of 53-year-old Lazaro Vargas, who played 22 years for the Havana Industriales in Cuba’s Serie Nacional and won two Olympic gold medals while a member of the Cuban national team. So revered was Lazaro Vargas in his homeland, he was featured on the country’s 15 centavos postage stamp.

Was.

With his son in tow and the dream that his son would one day play in the MLB, Lazaro and Miguel – then only 15 years old – defected to the Dominican Republic, where he began the lengthy process of entering his son into the international draft. While doing so, the 6′-3″ / 198-pound teenager trained vigorously as a corner infielder.

With lineage like that, it came as no surprise that Miguel was snatched up by the Dodgers as an international free agent on September 7, 2017. He was immediately assigned to the Arizona Rookie League, where he appeared in eight games and posted a slash-line of .419 / .515 / .581 for a remarkable OPS of 1.094. He split time equally between first base and third base, committing only one error at first base.

In a pure paper move, Vargas was briefly assigned to the Dodgers Double-A Tulsa Drillers on May 10, 2018 but did not appear in any games. Once play began in the Pioneer Rookie League on June 15, Vargas was assigned to the Ogden Raptors to officially begin his development.

This is where it gets real good.

In the 11 games that Vargas has appeared in with the first place Raptors (two at first base and nine at third base), he is 24-for-46 at the plate (.522), with eight doubles, one triple, and one home run. That’s 10 extra base hits of his 24 total hits thus far and equates to an alien-like slash-line of .522 / .569 / .804 for an insane OPS of 1.373.

Obviously, 11 games in the Pioneer Rookie League is an extremely small sample size and some may argue that the talent at this level is not a true indication of one’s abilities or potential. But the simple truth is that this kid is special; very special. In fact, in a game against the Helena Brewers this past Monday, Vargas went 5-for-5, with a home run, four singles and two RBI to help power the Raptors to a 10-7 win over the Milwaukee Brewers affiliate.

Under the category of ‘You might want to keep your eye on,’ Miguel Vargas needs to be at the top of your list.
(Photo credit – Kevin Johnson)

Although anything is possible, the likelihood of Vargas making it beyond Low Single-A Great Lakes this season if rather remote, especially for an 18-year-old. But it’s hard not to draw comparisons with another young Dodger who defected from Cuba, albeit as a 21-year-old, who skyrocketed through the Dodgers minor league system and made his Dodgers debut at age 22. That is, of course, Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig.

You don’t suppose…