LAKELAND, Fla. — Duque Hebbert, a 21-year-old right-hander, struck out three MLB superstars — Juan Soto, Julio Rodríguez and Rafael Devers — on Monday in the World Baseball Classic.
He also agreed to a contract with the Detroit Tigers.
Hebbert, from Team Nicaragua, was virtually unknown before tossing a scoreless ninth inning in a 6-1 loss to the Dominican Republic. Not long after the game, the Nicaragua national baseball team announced the 5-foot-10, 170-pound pitcher signed with the Tigers.
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The Tigers have not officially signed Hebbert, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, but the two sides have agreed to a minor-league contract. He still needs to put pen to paper, pass a physical exam and complete other tests.
It’s unclear when Hebbert, currently in Miami for the WBC, will report to Lakeland.
Hebbert, who threw 14 of 19 pitches for strikes, used nine changeup, six sliders, two four-seam fastballs and two sinkers in the ninth inning. His fastballs averaged 89.5 mph, with his slider at 79-80 mph and his changeup at 82-84 mph.
He generated five whiffs on 12 swings.
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Hebbert struck out Soto on three pitches, finishing him off with back-to-back changeups at the bottom of the zone for swinging strikes, to begin his outing. He then struck out Rodríguez with a down-and-away slider for a swinging strike. Finally, he won a seven-pitch battle against Devers when another changeup at the bottom of the zone induced a swinging strike.
Manny Machado, in the lineup after Rodríguez and before Devers, fell behind 0-2 but hit a fourth-pitch slider for a double.
Luis Molina, a Tigers scout in Panama and Nicaragua, attended the Pool D matchup between Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic at LoanDepot Park in Miami. He found Hebbert after the game and offered him the contract.
Before joining the Tigers, Hebbert pitched for Tren del Norte in the Liga Nicaragüense de Béisbol Profesional, the major professional baseball league in Nicaragua. He posted a 4.71 ERA with 17 walks and 24 strikeouts across 28⅔ innings in 21 appearances as a rookie in that league this past winter.
Hebbert has never played for a team affiliated with Major League Baseball.
That is expected to change soon.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.