Getting to Know Tri-City's Franny Cobos and Juan Pablo Lopez

I got to The Joe in Troy, New York earlier in the day than usual last week. They were having a kid's baseball camp and I knew that a few of the Tri-City ValleyCats players would be participating so I swung by to take a look. Two of the players I was set to interview had volunteered to help with the camp and looked as though they were having a very good time. I asked them about their experience in this video interview.

Juan Pablo Lopez - July 2019

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Franny Cobos - July 2019

Photo by Jayne Hansen

RHP Franny Cobos signed with the Astros in August 2017 and pitched his first season with the Dominican Summer League in 2018 where he had an 0.60 ERA and a 1.080 WHIP in 14 games (45 IP). In his first season stateside, the 18-year old Cuban has a 0.57 ERA and a 1.149 WHIP in his first five appearances of the season. According to Tri-City Manager Ozney Guillen, Cobos's international experience with Team Cuba has really helped him succeed despite his young age.

Franny Cobos - July 2019

Photo by Jayne Hansen

ValleyCats Pitching Coach John Kovalik expanded on the subject of Cobos, "He's an impressive kid. He really is. He's very, very mature and extremely intelligent which helps him on the baseball field. Getting away from the mental acuity that he has, he's got very good body awareness so he can make adjustments and learn new movements really, really quickly which is something that is special about him."

According to Kovalik, Cobos has made huge strides in learning English since they first met in the Dominican Republic in February. "Seeing how far he's come with that has been really awesome. He's such a fun person to be around everyday. He keeps things light. You always know what you're going to get with him. You always know that he's going to bring some energy every day. He's just another guy who's awesome to work with. I think something that's special about him is that he makes learning English and becoming accustomed to life over here in the United States just as much of a priority as he does with his craft on the field."

LHP Juan Pablo Lopez first signed with the Astros out of Mexico during the July 2nd international signing period in 2016. In his first six appearances with Tri-City this season, the tall 20-year old lefty has a 3.96 ERA and a 1.280 WHIP in 25 innings (9 BB:24 K). Kovalik minces no words when describing Lopez, "He's big, he's left-handed and he throws hard. Right there you have kind of a recipe for success."

Juan Pablo Lopez - July 2019

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Kovalik continued, "He's got a very, very solid foundation. Working on cleaning up his delivery a little bit. Just getting him to be a little more consistent with his pitches. But as far as overall stuff goes, he's got as good stuff as anybody here. Like I said, he's left-handed and he throws hard so you can't teach that. He's an extremely hard worker. He's a beast in the weight room too. He really enjoys that. He's physically in incredible shape which allows him to go deep into outings and maintain his velocity deep into outings which is a huge thing. An all around pleasure to work with. Another guy who's really just open to new ideas. Anything you throw at him to help him get better, he's so open to it. And he's the kind of person that he takes it and he runs with it. He focuses and he works and works and works on that one thing until he's mastered it. I think that's why he's improved so much in such a short amount of time."

Now, on to the interview!