The Phillies have signed Dominican third baseman Luis Encarnacion for a $1MM signing bonus, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. Badler ranked Encarnacion as the No. 4 international prospect in this year's class, while MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez ranked him 12th. Earlier in the week, Badler reported that he'd be "shocked" if the Phillies didn't sign Encarnacion, who just became eligible to sign today — his 16th birthday.
Encarnacion's value is all in his bat, Badler writes, as defensive limitations will cause him to move to left field or first base eventually. He has plus raw power from the right side of the plate and has shown that power off to scouts in games already. Over at MLB.com, Sanchez's scouting report notes that Encarnacion hits the ball to all fields with a solid line-drive stroke and already has shown home run power to his pull side. Scouts like Encarnacion's makeup and aggressive approach on the field as well.
