New York Yankees Prospect Killed at Party in Venezuela
For the second time in the past week, the baseball world has been rocked by tragic news from Venezuela. This time, New York Yankees prospect Alexander Figueredo was killed, shot at a party back in November.
Earlier in the week, the baseball world learned that Yorman Landa, a prospect in the Minnesota Twins system, had been killed in a car accident in Venezuela. Now, word has come out that another prospect, New York Yankees pitcher Alexander Figueredo, was shot and killed in Venezuela as well. He was only 20 years old.
Figueredo’s passing actually happened in November, as he was shot multiple times at a party around 4:00 AM in the morning on November 27. He had been preforming at the house when the tragedy occurred. While relatives said they knew what transpired, the details of those final moments have yet to be made public.
Although Figueredo was not on any of the Yankees top prospect reports, he performed quite well in his season in their system. In 2015, he posted a 5-0 record with a 1.89 ERA. In his 57 innings of work, he struck out 52 batters with only 22 walks during his time in the Dominican Summer League.
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However, he missed the entire 2016 season, placed on the suspended/restricted list, although the reason for his suspension was unknown. Given his year long suspension, and the secrecy surrounding it, the New York Yankees may not have brought him back for 2017.
That does not mean that his time as a professional baseball player would be over. With his performance in the Dominican Summer League, as well as Figueredo being left handed, he could have landed with another franchise. Figueredo certainly showed plenty of promise in his one year in the Yankees system, and had the issues that caused his suspension been behind him, he could have been worth the gamble.
Unfortunately, we will never know. Another promising young player saw his life cut short, gunned down at a party. We may never know what happened that night, or what led to his murder. All that we know is that Figueredo will not get another chance to show that he could be a solid prospect.
Alexander Figueredo pitched well in the New York Yankees system, but he will not have another chance to make a positive impact as he was killed in his native Venezuela.
