Yoel Yanqui

Yoel Yanqui Vera
also listed as Yanki
(El Acorazado)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 210 lb.

• Born April 25, 1996 in Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba Cuba

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Biographical Information

Yoel Yanqui has played in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, USA, Venezuela and Nicaragua. He has been on the Cuban national team.

Yanqui debuted for the Santiago de Cuba Wasps in the 2013-2014 Serie Nacional, going 1 for 18 with two walks, four runs and a RBI. In 2014-2015, the teenager hit .241/.290/.293 while splitting first base with Edilse Silva. He then defected from Cuba. Signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks, he had a big debut in the minors at .373/.460/.544 for the 2017 DSL Diamondbacks 1, though he was old for the level. He won the Dominican Summer League batting title by .009 ahead of another Yoel, Yoel Romero. He also led in OBP by .011, was second in slugging (.014 behind Andrison Pena and OPS (1 behind Pena). He was named a DSL All-Star.

Moving up to the more age-appropriate Kane County Cougars, he hit .289/.356/.380 in 2018 with 83 runs in 126 games. He led Midwest League first basemen in assists (82) and errors (15) and was 10th in average and tied Akil Baddoo for 4th in runs. Among Arizona farmhands, only Ildemaro Vargas had more hits and only Sócrates Brito had more runs (by two). He batted .272/.358/.442 for the 2019 Visalia Rawhide, stealing 17 bases in 22 tries. That winter, he was 1 for 5 with a walk for the Leones del Escogido.

The 2020 minor league season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was 2-for-11 with a walk for the 2020-2021 Tigres del Licey. In the minor league portion of the 2020 Rule V Draft, he was picked up by the Cincinnati Reds. Assigned to the Chattanooga Lookouts, he produced at a .235/.323/.368 rate and fielded .995 as their most-used first baseman. The Reds released him in late August. He played in Venezuela in 2022-2023, hitting .232/.323/.304 for the Navegantes del Magallanes. Playing in Venezuela that summer as well for the Marineros de Carabobo, he led the league in hits. With the 2023-2024 Cardenales de Lara, he fared better at .291/.370/.456, their primary option at first.

In 2024, he returned to Cuba, driving in 37 runs in 31 games in the Cuban Elite League while tearing the cover off the ball to the tune of .395/.478/.658. He was 3rd in home runs (8), tied Jeison Martínez for 5th in total bases (75), was second to Eduardo Garcia in RBI, ranked 3rd in average (after Yoelkis Guibert and Martínez), was second in slugging (though .222 behind Guibert), placed 3rd in OBP and was second in OPS (318 shy of Guibert). In the 2024 Serie Nacional, he hit .341/.523/.545 with 15 runs in 15 games for the Wasps.

The Palma Soriano native split the winter of 2024-2025 between Venezuela's Navegantes (3 for 18, 2B, HR) and the Indios del Bóer (0 for 4). Back in Venezuela with the Marineros in 2025, he won the batting title (.438) and was second in OBP (.531). He set a new Venezuelan Major League record in average. In Cuba in 2025-2026, the veteran batted .466/.576/1.000 with 37 runs and 50 RBI in 37 games. He did not qualify for the leaderboards or he would've run roughshod; he still tied for 6th with 14 homers despite his limited action.

Yanqui then played for Cuba in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. He debuted as a pinch-runner for Alfredo Despaigne and scored; staying in at DH, he drew a walk from Colombia's Ezequiel Zabaleta. He was 0 for 2 with 3 walks and two runs. Despite his backup role, he tied Roel Santos for the team lead in walks and tied for their lead in runs.