Arguelles making difficult transition

SPRINGDALE — For Noel Arguelles, life as a Cuban defector in the United States has been mostly about living up to expectations.

Arguelles, a left-handed starting pitcher for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, and Boston Red Sox shortstop prospect Jose Iglesias defected in July 2008 while competing for Cuba at the World Junior Championships in Edmonton, Alberta.

Arguelles, 22, ended up playing baseball in the Dominican Republic shortly after defecting, and it wasn’t long before he was popping up on the radar of numerous major-league scouts. After about a year of playing in the Dominican Republic, he signed a five-year, $6.9 million major-league contract with the Kansas City Royals on Jan. 5, 2010.

Rene Francisco, who runs the Royals’ international operations, said Royals scouts had taken notice of Arguelles while he was competing in tournaments as an amateur for Cuba, and they continued to keep an eye on him after he made his way to the Dominican Republic.

“He was a young left-handed pitcher that had a good fastball and a good breaking ball,” Francisco said. “Different teams were going after him, and we liked what we saw. I believe the [New York] Yankees were involved and at least a handful of other teams.”

Arguelles was seven days shy of his 20th birthday when he signed his contract, which included a $3.4 million bonus.

“It was a complete turnaround in my life to have that much money and a majorleague contract,” Arguelles said during a recent interview at Arvest Ballpark. “It really just baffled me. In Cuba, you’rejust playing for the pride of baseball and you don’t really know anything about the money.”

A lot of things have changed since his arrival in the United States.

The Royals put him on the fast track, starting him at advanced Class A Wilmington last year after he missed the2010 season because of a shoulder injury. He turned in a solid debut season, going 4-5 with a 3.20 ERA for the Blue Rocks, which earned him a promotion to Northwest Arkansas.

The step up to Class AA has been a tougher transition for Arguelles, who is 2-7 with a 6.12 ERA after taking the loss in Saturday night’s game against the Arkansas Travelers.

Scott Sharp, the Royals’ director of minor league operations, said Cuban players such as Arguelles and Naturals center fielder Yem Prades have a different type of learning curve than other Latin American players, who typically sign when they are 16 or 17.

“For the most part, Cuban players are older when they defect and go to a higher level as a result,” Sharp said. “Yem and Noel, they’ve played together for a couple years now. The game is played faster, there’s less margin for error, and they have to get up to speed quicker.”

Prades and Arguelles knew one another before they signed with the Royals, having met while playing in the DominicanRepublic, and they have leaned on one another since coming into the organization.

Prades said Arguelles has everything it takes to succeed in major-league baseball.

“He’s a grinder, he’s a fighter, and he’s a bulldog,” Prades said through an interpreter. “If he signed for all that money, it’s because he’s worth it.

“He’s just like me. We know how to get down and dirty and fight for what we want.”Arguelles glance NAME Noel Arguelles TEAM Northwest Arkansas Naturals POSITION Starting pitcher AGE 22 (born Jan. 12, 1990) HEIGHT/WEIGHT 6-3, 225 pounds BIRTHPLACE Guira, Cuba THROWS Left-handed STATISTICS 2-6 record, 3.20 ERA NOTEWORTHY Ranked by Baseball America as the No. 17 prospect in the Kansas City Royals organization. ... Defected from Cuba in 2008 and signed a five-year, $6.9 million major-league contract with the Royals in January 2010. ... Went 4-5 with a 3.20 ERA in his first minor league season last year with advanced Class A Wilmington.