Yurendell Decaster #37

Yurendell Eithel DeCaster...Single...Signed with Tampa Bay as a 16-year old amateur free agent on 8/2O/96. ...Originally signed by Devil Rays scout Rudy Santin...Played for the Dutch National Team at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece...Is a native of Curacao, which has a population of about 150,000 inhabitants, with 40 to 50 nationalities living on the 182 square mile island...It is located in the southwestern Caribbean, north of Venezuela and just 12 degrees from the equator.

2005

Spent entire season with Indianapolis (AAA)...Led club in games played and doubles...Ranked second in RBI and hits...Established minor league career highs in runs, hits and doubles...Made 49 appearances in right field, 26 at third base, 23 at first base, 10 at second base and four in left field...Appeared everywhere in the starting lineup except in the leadoff position. ...Batted .356 (16-for-45) in 14 games during the month of April, which included back-to-back three-hit games on 4/28 and 4/29. ...Homered twice on 5/5 @Colorado Springs - his first home runs of the year...Was also hitting .356 following the action on 5/5...Had season-high four RBI and grand slam on 5/10 vs. Richmond...Hit .345 (30-for-87) in 24 games during the month of June, which included a 14-game hitting streak from 6/5-20 (19-for-53, .358)...Homered in back-to-back games on 6/27 and 6/28...Hit safely in 20 of his 24 games in June...Produced a nine-game hitting streak from 6/25 to 7/3, going 18-for-40 (.450) and raising average from .298 to .325...Batted .242 with just five RBI in 24 games during the month of July...Had three doubles on 8/12 @Durham...His home run on 8/15 was his first since 6/28, a span of 40 games without a long ball...Had three hits and tied season high with four RBI on 8/21 vs. Scranton/WB...Hit just .242 (48-for-198) in final 56 games after the month of June...Went 4-for-17 (.235) with one RBI in first round of playoffs vs. Buffalo and 4-for-9 (.444) in Championship Series vs. Toledo...Participated in the Venezuelan Winter League and batted .325 (68-for-209) with 17 home runs and 47 RBI in 60 games with Oriente.

2004

Spent entire season with Altoona (AA)...Hit 14 of his 15 home runs off right-handed pitchers...Made 82 starts at third base, five at first base and five in left field...Went 2-for-2 with his first Double-A home run on 4/15 @Harrisburg...Batted .310 (27-for-87) with six homers and 16 RBI during the month of June...Posted a season-high four hits with a homer, double, four RBI and two runs scored in Curve's 10-4 victory @Harrisburg on 6/15...Was named Eastern League Player-of-the-Week for the week of 6/14-20 after batting .455 (10-for-22) with four home runs, eight RBI and seven runs scored...Homered in four consecutive games from 6/19-22, falling just one game shy of the club record for consecutive games with a home run (Adam Hyzdu in 1999)...Posted a season-best 11-game hitting streak from 6/13-25, during which he batted .395 (15-for-38) with six home runs, 12 RBI and 11 runs scored...Left the Curve from 8/1-26 to play for the Dutch National Team at the Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece...Hit .214 (6-for-28) with three homers and six RBI in seven preliminary round games for the Netherlands - started all seven games at first base as the Netherlands posted a 2-5 record and failed to qualify for the Medal Round...Homered and knocked in four runs in the Netherlands' win vs. Greece in the Olympic opener...Returned to the Curve's active roster on 8/27...Did not appear in any of Altoona's six Eastern League playoff games.

2003

Spent second consecutive full season with Lynchburg (A)...Smacked 10 of his 13 home runs off righthanders...Made 63 appearances at third base, 23 at first base, nine in left field and one in right field...Also made nine appearances as the designated hitter...Batted .306 (11-for-36) in April, but just .221 (65-for-294) the rest of the season...Hit a pinch-hit, game-winning three-run homer in the top of the 9th inning of Lynchburg's extra-inning win on 5/14 @Winston-Salem (game two)...Named the Carolina League's Player-of-the-Week for the week of 6/5-11 after hitting .407 (11-for-27) with three doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI and eight runs scored...Tied a Lynchburg record by homering in three consecutive games on 6/9 and 6/10 (DH)...Left the Hillcats from 7/7-27 after being granted permission to join the Dutch National Team for the European Olympic Qualifying Tournament in the Netherlands...Batted .214 (3-for-14) with an RBI and five runs scored in helping the Netherlands qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece...Returned to Lynchburg on 7/28 and hit .231 (28-for-121) in his final 35 games...Batted .294 (5-for-17) with three RBI and three runs scored in five Carolina League playoff games.

2002

Spent entire season with Carolina League champion Lynchburg...Established minor league career highs in games played. ...Appeared exclusively at third base and committed a career-high 32 errors...Posted the fifth-best HR/AB ratio in the Carolina League, homering once every 28.8 at bats...Blasted a grand slam to account for a season-high four RBI on 5/31 vs. Wilmington...Posted a season-high four hits (4-for-5) on 8/16 vs. Winston-Salem...Batted .320 (24-for-75) during the month of August...Did not appear in any post-season games.

2001

Spent his first season as a member of the Pirates' minor league system after being acquired from Tampa Bay in the minor league Rule 5 draft in December of 2000...Spent majority of season with Hickory (A), but began campaign with Lynchburg. ...Batted just .104 (5-for-48) with no home runs and four RBI in 13 games with the Hillcats before being reassigned to Hickory on 4/27...Finished third in the South Atlantic League in slugging percentage (.531)...Tied for the Pirates' organizational lead in RBI (78) and finished third with a career-high 19 home runs...Knocked in four or more runs seven times...Made 62 appearances as the Crawdads' third baseman and 34 games as the designated hitter...Hit 17 of his 19 home runs off righthanders...Went 4-for-4 with a double, grand slam and six RBI on 6/24 vs. Delmarva...Hit for the cycle, going 4-for-4 with four RBI before leaving the game in the 6th inning due to injury on 7/15 @ Charleston-WV...Named South Atlantic League's Player-of-the-Week for week of 8/24-30 after batting .400 (10-for-25) with four homers, 11 RBI and seven runs scored during the week.

2000

Began season in Tampa Bay's extended spring training program...Joined Charleston-SC on 6/15...Made 68 appearances at third base for the RiverDogs.

1999

Homered once every 16.64 at bats while spending entire season with Princeton, the fourth-best ratio among Appalachian League hitters...Homered twice and knocked in five runs on 8/7 vs. Bluefield...Team lost in the APPY League Championship Series.

1998

Spent entire season with the Devil Rays' Gulf Coast League affiliate...Made 48 appearances at second base, four at third base and one at shortstop.

1997

Made professional debut with the Devil Rays' Dominican Summer League entry.