The last time the Cincinnati Reds signed a Cuban pitcher who defected, they landed one of the games best closer’s in Aroldis Chapman. Back in June of 2014, the club again signed a Cuban national who fled the country. Not a great deal is known about right-handed pitcher Raisel Iglesias, but Reds scouts saw enough in him for the organization to hand him $27 million over seven years.

Like many Cuban standouts before him, Iglesias threw for three seasons in the Cuban National Series. As a 22-year old in his 2012 and final season as a CNS player, he pitched in 30 games and posted a 3.05 ERA over 82.2 IP.

Unlike the 6-foot-4, 205 pound Chapman, Iglesias stands 5-foot-11 and weighs only 165 pounds. Given his smaller frame, it’s unlikely Iglesias’ fastball will be able to sit at an average speed of 98.6 mph as Chapman’s has so far in his career.

After appearing for Cuba in the 2013 World Baseball Classic where he logged a 3.86 ERA in 4.2 innings of work with six strikeouts and a save, Iglesias first attempted defection later that year in September. He hid out in the mountains of Isla de la Juventud for a time before being captured and detained. In November, he successfully fled his homeland and signed six months later with the Reds. Iglesias pitched very sparingly in 2013 before logging only seven innings of work in 2014 with the Arizona Fall League’s Surprise Saguaros.

Iglesias’ pitch repertoire features a fastball that sat at 88-92 mph during the 2013 World Baseball Classic, but later that summer sat in the 92-95 mph range when Cuba played the U.S. college national team. He has a decent breaking ball that is difficult to differentiate from a slider or a curveball because Iglesias changes his arm slot so often when throwing it. His third pitch is a change-up that’s still a work in progress. A more detailed scouting report courtesy of Baseball America’s Ben Badler can be found here.

Due to a lack of more than two dominant pitches, Iglesias probably will not pan out to be a starting pitcher in MLB. His stamina is also in question, but he should play nicely in the seventh or eighth innings of games. Given that he has no minor league service time to his resume, it makes sense for the Reds to start him out in Double-A and see how things go from there. If he produces, a progression to Triple-A would set Iglesias up for a 2016 ETA in Major League Baseball. That’s entirely possible, seeing as how Iglesias currently has not allowed an earned run with only three hits over three innings pitched in spring ball.

Raisel Iglesias will turn 25 on April 1, so there is no rush to debut him with the Cincinnati Reds. Given his projected role, estimated arrival time and the fact Chapman is set to be a free agent after the 2015 season, it appears unlikely that Reds fans will witness a one-two Cuban connection in the latter innings of 2016 ball games.