Cuban Despaigne among batting leaders in Japanese baseball

HAVANA, Cuba, Jul 5 (acn) Cuban Alfredo Despaigne appears today among the batting leaders of the Japanese Professional Baseball Pacific League with average of .299.

In his third season in Japan with the Chiba Lotte Marines, Despaigne is near the barrier of .300 with 88 hits in 294 at-bats, and appears tenth of a list led by his teammate Katsuya Kakunaka (.356).
The Antillean slugger also occupies prominent spaces in RBIs (56) and runs scored (53).
After taking part in 76 games this season, Despaigne totals 14 home runs and 17 doubles, for a slugging of .500, with 32 walks and 50 strikeouts.
The Chiba Lotte Mariners appear third in the Pacific League with balance of 44 wins and 32 losses, behind the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (48-22) and the Nippon-Ham Fighters (44-31).
Alfredo Despaigne debuted in the Japanese professional baseball in 2014, when he batted for .311 with 13 doubles, 12 homers and 33 RBIs, while in 2015 he had an average of .258, with 18 doubles, equal amount of home runs and 62 RBIs.
Despaigne is one of three players inserted in the major circuit of the Asian nation by means of the Cuban Baseball Federation, along with pitcher Hector Manuel Mendoza and outfielder Jose Adolis Garcia, hired by the Yomiuri Giants.