Pedro Luis Lazo

Pedro Luis Lazo Iglesias (born April 15, 1973 in Pinar del Río Province, Cuba) is a top pitcher in Cuban baseball. He is used predominantly as a reliever in international competition, although he is a starter in the Cuban National Series, where he plays for Pinar del Río. His fastball has been clocked near 95 miles per hour (MPH) and his slider in the upper 80s.

Lazo was close to José Contreras, a Cuban pitcher who defected to the United States in 2002 and now pitches for the Chicago White Sox of the American League. They both pitched for Pinar del Río in the National Series and other selective series.

Achievements

Lazo was part of the gold medal-winning Cuban teams at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 2004 Athens games, and won silver at the 2000 games in Sydney.

During the World Cup of Baseball in 2005 in The Netherlands, Lazo had 2 wins, 0 losses with 2 saves, a 0.54 ERA, and just 7 hits against in 16⅔ innings. He also pitched for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic in March 2006 and recorded an impressive 4⅔ inning save against Dominican Republic in the semifinals matchup.