Angelo Cuevas concentrated on game, made pros, saw AAA
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Ahead of the 1984 draft, Long Island high schooler Angelo Cuevas look to have a good shot at being selected, according to Newsday.
Cuevas attempted to explain to Newsday the skills that got him noticed.
"I try to concentrate on all four aspects of the game," Cuevas told Newsday then. "I don't want to let one get better than any of the others. If I feel my hitting has improved, then I try to bring up the level of my running, fielding and throwing."
Cuevas got those skills to the point where he was drafted that June. He went on to a career that spanned over a decade. He topped out at AAA.
Cuevas' career began that year in 1984, taken by the Mets in the 27th round of the draft out of Aviation Career & Technical Education High School in Long Island City, NY.
Cuevas started with the Mets between rookie Kingsport and single-A Columbia. He hit .277 in 53 games.
He returned to Columbia for a full season in 1985 and hit .290 in 130 games. He broke out of a July slump, going 4 for 5 in a win, The Columbia Record wrote.
"I figured out that I'm just going to have to go out there and relax and not think about anything, just try to hit the ball and react," Cuevas told The Record afterward.
Cuevas saw Columbia again for an abbreviated 1986, then got his first looks at AA Jackson and AAA Tidewater in 1987. .
His time in 1986 and 1987 was limited by injuries, a knee operation in 1986 and then a broken ankle in 1987. But he made it back from both ahead of schedule, Newsday wrote.
"I would have liked to have seen what would have happened if I wasn't ever hurt," Cuevas told Newsday in 1988. "You wonder, 'Where would I stand in this organization?'"
He played most of 1988 and all of 1989 at Jackson, then at Jackson and Tidewater in 1990. He hit .255 in 20 games at Tidewater in 1990. He later played in the Mexican League, as late as 1995.
- Newsday, May 20, 1984: Cuevas' Prospects Are Excellent
- Columbia Record, July 12, 1985: Luck returns for Cuevas, Mets in win
- Newsday, July 15, 1988: Injuries Over For Cuevas
Made the Majors:1,475-31.8%
Never Made Majors:3,171-68.4%-X