Crushers Sign Three Dominican Righties

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:

Zane Bloom, zbloom@lakeeriecrushers.com

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Crushers Sign Three Dominican Righties to 2026 Roster

Crushers Roster Updates Presented by BCT Alarm Services, Inc.

Avon, OH - March 18, 2026 - Skipper Jared Lemieux has announced the signing of three Dominican right-handed pitchers to the upcoming 2026 roster: RHP Xavier Ruiz, RHP Jean Calderon, and RHP Randy Berigüete. Crushers roster updates are presented by BCT Alarm Services, Inc.

Xavier Ruiz is a 6’1”, 180lb right handed pitcher and a former San Diego Padres farmhand. He was signed in 2022 as a 19 year-old out of the Dominican Republic. Across four minor league seasons, Ruiz pitched for Single-A Lake Elsinore and High-A Fort Wayne and had a 4.08 ERA across all levels of the minor leagues. Strictly out of the bullpen, Ruiz enjoyed his most successful season in 2024 as a closer with Lake Elsinore with a 2.22 ERA, eight saves, a 1.158 WHIP, and a 55/18 strikeout to walk ratio in the largest single-season workload of his career, 52 ⅔ innings.

Ruiz generates consistent arm-side run with his fastball and pairs it with a sweeping slider with lots of horizontal movement away to right-handed hitters. His motion mimics a side-armer’s drop, but he comes over the top at about a three-quarters arm slot and really gets on top of the baseball through his delivery. Ruiz enters his fifth professional season at 23 years of age.

RHP Jean Calderon is a 6’2”, 230lb right-handed arm out of the Dominican Republic and a former New York Mets farmhand. He pitched for three minor league seasons between rookie-ball and A-ball with the St. Lucie Mets. Calderon had a 1.161 WHIP and a 1.149 WHIP across 26 innings with a ridiculous 41 strikeouts (14.2 K/9) over two respective seasons in rookie-ball. In his most recent season in 2023, he logged a 6.43 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 28 innings, his largest professional workload.

Calderon has a big frame and generates his power with his tree trunk legs and his high leg kick. His fastball sits 95-96mph and burrows straight downhill with his over-the-top delivery. He also features a nasty, firm slider in the upper 80s that moves like a frisbee and a 90mph changeup that gets good vertical drop and can get on the hands of right-handed hitters. Calderon has been recovering from injuries for the last few seasons, but he is healthy and ready to be back on the rubber in 2026.

RHP Randy Berigüete, like Calderon, is a big-frame right-handed pitcher from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Standing a staggering 6’5”, 237lbs, Berigüete joins the Crushers fresh off a five-year stretch in the Baltimore Orioles organization, whom he signed with as an 18 year-old and pitched with as high as Single-A Delmarva. He enjoyed his best professional season in 2024, posting a 3.46 ERA out of the bullpen in 41 ⅔ innings. At just 23 years-old entering the 2026 season, few have as much professional experience at that age as the young Dominican.

Berigüete played professionally this winter in Curaçao and was also part of the Dominican Winter League champion Leones del Escogido in both 2024 and 2025. Berigüete has a very simplified windup and delivery with very tight arm action, creating lots of deception by tunnelling with his fastball and a changeup that proves lethal to left-handed hitters, falling straight off the table from the same slot as his fastball. He also features a slider that breaks late and has good movement. 

Jared Lemieux’s 2026 roster continues to take shape. Stay tuned for more Crushers roster updates, presented by BCT Alarm Services, Inc.

Single-game tickets are on sale now! Pick your games and buy your tickets at lakeeriecrushers.com/2026-schedule.

The Lake Erie Crushers will open their 17th season at newly named ForeFront Field in Avon on Friday, May 8th, 2026 in a playoff rematch against the Schaumburg Boomers. For information on season ticket memberships visit lakeeriecrushers.com, and be sure to follow our socials @LECrushers on Instagram/Facebook/X.

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About the Lake Erie Crushers

The Lake Erie Crushers are a professional baseball team based in Avon, Ohio, just 18 miles west of Cleveland at ForeFront Field. They compete in the Frontier League, a proud MLB Partner League, and have brought a family-friendly, fan-oriented baseball experience to Northeast Ohio since 2009. As Lorain County’s only professional sports franchise, the Lake Erie Crushers are the largest economic driver in Lorain County, hosting more than 200 events per year that include over 50 baseball games, concerts, charity functions, and other events that bring the community of Avon together. Len Komoroski is the Crushers Chairman and Managing Partner, and the team is led by President Vic Gregovits. Jared Lemieux, a Maine Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, is in his fourth season as field manager.