When Oakland A’s closer Grant Balfour talks, people listen…especially when your father is the Australia Baseball League’s Sydney Blue Sox General Manager! Coming back from Tommy John surgery and beginning his rehab during the 2011-12 offseason, pitcher Caleb Cuevas enlisted Balfour as his workout partner to train with in Clearwater, Florida. The Aussie sent his father, Blue Sox General Manager David Balfour, an email detailing the skills Cuevas possessed. Balfour described the young American pitcher as a “flamethrower”–quite the comment from a reliever who himself lights up the radar gun with triple digits.

Not only did Balfour serve as a mentor to the 24-year-old North Carolina native, but he also recommended that the Sydney Blue Sox sign Cuevas. Caleb spoke highly of Grant Balfour and his positive reinforcement post-surgery. “Grant helped me a whole lot, particularly with my recovery and my off-speed pitching,” Cuevas said. “He was real supportive not just of
me getting back to 100%, but how
I could be an even better pitcher
once I returned completely.”

Although the right-handed hurler officially began his first professional season in the Can-Am League with the 2012 Newark Bears, Cuevas got his first MLB test while on the Coastal Carolina University squad when facing some big guns on the Texas Rangers lineup in an April 2012 exhibition game. Click HERE to watch him take on the likes of Napoli, Borbon, Kinsler, and Andrus. The six-foot-two pitcher was a two-time All-Western Athletic Conference pick at West Henderson High School prior to playing for Louisburg College, the Outer Banks Daredevils and Coastal Carolina.

He began the 2012 season as a starter in Indy
League play before moving to the Newark Bears bullpen. In his final 14 appearances as a reliever, Cuevas posted a 2.38 ERA over 15.1 innings
of work, allowing 17 hits, six walks and four
earned runs, while striking out 18. Blue Sox
manager Jason “Pops” Pospishil took notice
of his good numbers and immediately thought
how valuable the young import could prove to be
for Sydney while echoing the sentiment shared by Oakland Athletics’ Grant Balfour. “His numbers out
of the bullpen were extremely impressive and he
also has some experience as a starter, so he will
be a flexible piece to add to our pitching staff,”
said Pospishil. The Blue Sox skipper believes that
with Cuevas’ versatility he could play various
pitching roles for Sydney this season. During his
10 ABL appearances and 10.2 innings of relief,
Cuevas has given up opponents ten runs (8.44 ERA).