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2014-15 International Prospects

NL International Signings: Cuadrado, Gonzalez, Rosario

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Here are the day’s most notable international prospect signings from the National League (rankings via MLB.com and Baseball America):

  • The Dodgers have signed Venezuelan corner outfielder Romer Cuadrado and given him a $750K signing bonus, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America. Cuardado didn’t crack either Top 30 list, though Badler did note in a report (subscription required) that he has an “extra-large frame” for a 16-year-old (6’4″, 195 pounds) with room to add size. Badler noted that Cuardado has projectable raw power from the right side.
  • Shortstops Pedro Gonzalez ($1.3MM) and Yeremy Rosario ($800K) have agreed to terms with the Rockies, according to Dionisio Soldevila of ESPNDeportes.com (via Twitter) and MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (Twitter link), respectively. Gonzalez was rated the 12th-best prospect available by both Baseball America and MLB.com. Rosario, meanwhile, landed at 22nd on the MLB.com list, with opinions varying on whether he is a top young player or instead lacks the ability to stick up the middle.
  • Shortstop Kenny Hernandez has signed with the Mets for $1MM, Sanchez reports on Twitter. Hernandez was the 27th-rated prospect by MLB.com but rose all the way to 13th on the Baseball America board.
  • The Giants have inked outfielder Sandro Fabian for $500K, reports Sanchez (via Twitter). Fabian hails from the Dominican Republic and can generate hard contact but needs to work on his plate discipline and will likely need to move from center to left field, according to Badler (subscription required).
  • The Phillies have signed shortstop Arquimedes Gamboa to a $900K bonus, reports Sanchez (via Twitter). The switch-hitting Venezuelan checked in at eighth on BA’s list and 15th on that of MLB.com. His value appears to be in his legs and defensive ability, though Gamboa is said to be a capable contact hitter. Philadelphia has also inked fellow Venezuelan shortstop Daniel Brito, who was rated 29th overall by BA, according to a report from Badler. Brito receives a healthy $650K bonus, according to Badler.
  • The Padres have agreed to terms with catcher Ricardo Rodriguez, who came in at the very bottom of MLB.com’s top-30 prospect list, tweets Sanchez. San Diego also landed a $500K contract with shortstop Elvis Sabala, per another Sanchez tweet.
  • Outfielder Christian Capellan has agreed to a $500K deal with the Marlins, tweets Sanchez. The club has also inked Venezuelan outfielder Anderson Castro for $650K, according to MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (via Twitter). Miami is expected to land as many as twelve players today while wielding a bonus that is triple the club’s previous levels, tweets Frisaro. The Fish have just over $4.6MM in available pool space, second-most in the league.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Rays To Sign Adrian Rondon, Jesus Sanchez

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2:23pm: Tampa has also reached agreement with outfielder Jesus Sanchez on a $400K bonus, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America. Sanchez was rated the 27th-best prospect by Baseball America entering the signing period.

11:48am: The Rays have agreed to sign international shortstop prospect Adrian Rondon, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (via Twitter). He will earn a $3.3MM bonus, per Deportes’ Dionisio Soldevila (via Twitter), though he cannot technicaly sign until July 7 because he has yet to turn 16.

Rondon occupies the top slot in Baseball America’s ranking of available prospects and comes in at third in the view of MLB.com. BA cites his outstanding feel for the game and athletic presence in the middle of the diamond, where he could stick. He is also one of, if not the most advanced hitters available. He makes good, hard contact and has some power projection in his swing and body.

The Rays entered the signing period with only $1,998,100 in pool money at the club’s disposal, well shy of the reported bonus for Rondon. The difference of over $1.3MM would handily exceed the 15% bar, above which the club must both pay a 100% overage tax and give up the ability to sign international prospects for bonuses of over $300K for the next two signing periods.

Red Sox To Sign Chris Acosta, Anderson Espinoza

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2:30pm: Espinoza will receive a $200K scholarship in addition to his bonus, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (via Twitter).

2:00pm: Boston has agreed to sign top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza to a $1.8MM bonus, tweets Ben Badler of Baseball America. Espinoza was rated the best available arm by both BA and MLB.com. As expected, the Red Sox will be hit with the maximum penalty.

11:00am: The Red Sox have agreed to a $1.5MM deal with international prospect Chris Acosta, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports on Twitter. Acosta is a right-hander out of the Dominican Republic.

Baseball America rates him the 11th-best available prospect, while MLB.com had him sitting just one spot outside of the top five. Acosta is said to be advanced for his young age, with room to grow into his frame and increase his velocity. He is already sitting in the upper 80s to low 90s, with a good change and promising curve also in his arsenal.

Entering the signing period, Boston was tied to both Acosta and fellow top righty Anderson Espinoza. With just a shade over $1.88MM available in pool money, Boston is expected to incur the maximum penalties for blowing its budget by at least 15%. Should that occur, the club would pay a 100% tax and receive a two-year ban on July 2 signing bonuses of greater than $300K.

AL International Signings: White Sox, Castillo, Martinez

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July 2 is upon us; here are the day’s notable international prospect signings from the American League (rankings via MLB.com and Baseball America):

  • The White Sox have made several big-dollar signings: shortstop Ricardo Mota has signed for $750K, second baseman Felix Mercedes will receive a $950K bonus, and catcher Jhoandro Alfaro (brother of Rangers’ prospect Jorge) will get $750K, according to Dionisio Soldevila of ESPNDeportes.com (links to Twitter). Earlier, we learned that shortstop Amado Nunez has agreed to a $900K bonus with Chicago, per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez tweets. The club has announced all four signings, per Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Nunez is perhaps the highest-rated of the foursome, with MLB.com and BA both rating him the 26th-best available prospect. Though he lacks any eye-popping tools and may ultimately need to move off of shortstop, BA says that his broad-based talents tend to show up in game action.
  • The Yankees have agreed to a $750K bonus with shortstop Diego Castillo, tweets MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. The highly-rated Venezuelan prospect (16th by MLB.com, 24th by BA) is small in stature but shows promising skill up the middle and a nice line-drive swing at the plate.
  • Julio Martinez has signed with the Tigers for $600K, reports Dionisio Soldevila of ESPNDeportes.com (via Twitter). Martinez, an outfielder from the Dominican Republic, placed 19th on MLB.com’s ranking, owing largely to his hit and power tools.
  • The Astros have agreed to sign righty Franklin Perez and shortstop Miguel Sierra for $1MM each, reports Sanchez (via Twitter). MLB.com rated them the 21st and 23rd best available prospects, respectively, while Baseball America had them at 15th and 19th on its list. Perez is said to have a good fastball and advanced approach on the mound, while Sierra profiles as a solid all-around player with a line-drive stroke and the ability to stay at short.
  • The Twins have reached agreement on a $800K bonus with righty Huascar Ynoa, tweets Sanchez. The younger brother of record-holding international signee Michael Ynoa, the Dominican landed at 17th among available prospects on the MLB.com list and 14th in the eyes of Baseball America, which credits him with outstanding stuff but streaky control.

Brewers To Sign Gilbert Lara

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The Brewers have agreed to sign international prospect Gilbert Lara, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (via Twitter). Lara will receive a $3.2MM bonus, according to colleague Dionisio Soldevila (via Twitter).

Milwaukee has long been expected to land Lara, a Dominican shortstop who is expected to move to third base but could ultimately shift across the diamond or into the corner outfield. He is big and strong, and has shown good power in game action. MLB.com liked him as the fourth-best available prospect, with Baseball America slotting him at number five.

That bonus alone would exceed the Brewer’s available international money of $2,611,800 by 22.5%. If that holds, Milwaukee would not only pay a 100% tax on the overage, but would sacrifice the right to sign any player for more than $300K in the next two signing periods. On the other hand, the club could always acquire additional slots (up to 50% of its original total pool) to offset the difference.

Blue Jays To Sign Juan Meza, Kevin Vicuna

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The Blue Jays have agreed to an as-yet-unreported bonus with international prospect Juan Meza, reports Baseball America’s Ben Badler. Meza will earn a $1.6MM bonus, according to a tweet from MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. Toronto has also agreed to sign shortstop Kevin Vicuna, per Badler.

Meza is a righty who hails from Venezuela. BA rates him as the tenth-best available prospect, citing his feel and repertoire in projecting him as a starter. MLB.com, meanwhile, rated him in the 11th slot. Considered a good athlete, Meza could add velocity as he builds up size and strength. He already has a good change and serviceable slider, though his curveball and (perhaps more importantly) command have lagged somewhat. All indications are that he possesses as much upside as any available pitcher.

The shortstop Vicuna, meanwhile, was rated as the 30th-best prospect by Baseball America. He is a slight-framed, defensively-talented ballplayer whose bat is less developed. Vicuna will need to improve his strength and speed to reach his potential.

International Notes: Forecasts, Astros, Castillo, Tomas

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Earlier today, MLBTR’s Steve Adams broke down everything you need to know entering the July 2 signing period. As it opens up officially, here’s the latest on the international market:

  • Baseball America’s Ben Badler has excellent team-by-team forecasts for the 2014-15 July 2 market. In addition to covering the landing spots of some of the more notable available names, Badler also discusses teams’ differing approaches and predilections in this area of player acquisition.
  • Armed with over $5MM in available pool money, the Astros expect to be “reasonably aggressive,” GM Jeff Luhnow tells MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. “It’s a good class,” said Luhnow. “It’s deep and has got pitchers, position players. I’m excited about it. I think we’re going to add a lot of depth to our system this year.”
  • Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo is expected to hold a showcase next week in Miami, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports on Twitter. Badler notes that Castillo could make an impact down the stretch; he has previously written that the 26-year-old is viewed as a major league-caliber, but not necessarily top-flight, talent.
  • Yasmani Tomas, who recently defected from Cuba, is working with agent Jay Alou, reports Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (via Twitter). The 23-year-old outfielder will be exempt from spending limits, and is expected to draw significant interest based on his impressive power.

2014-15 International Signing Period Primer

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Tomorrow marks the launch of the 2014-15 international free agent signing period. Beginning tomorrow and ending June 15, 2015, amateur players outside of the United States (including Puerto Rico) and Canada will be eligible to sign contracts with any Major League club, so long as they turn 17 years of age by Sept. 1, 2015 (the completion of their first minor league season). In other words, any players that are already 16+ years of age or will be 16 by Sept. 1, 2014, will be eligible to be signed.

Under the current collective bargaining agreement, players with at least three years of professional experience that are 23 years of age or older have been considered professionals and been exempt from international bonus pools. That will change with this year’s signing period, as players must now have a prerequisite five years of pro experience in addition to being 23 years of age or older in order to be exempt from those spending limitations.

Baseball America’s Ben Badler reported each team’s designated bonus pools and the values of each team’s international bonus slots back in April. It should be noted that while teams such as the Cubs and Rangers have fairly large bonus pools, they won’t be able to sign any big-name prospects; each club incurred significant penalties in the 2013-14 signing period after exceeding its international bonus pool by more than 15 percent and, as such, will not be allowed to sign a player in this year’s signing period for more than $250K. Their bonus slots, however, retain their value, which could mean they will come into play as trade chips this summer.

A team can acquire up to 50 percent of its original draft pool, though the funds must be acquired via slots. For example, the White Sox ($4.273MM pool) can acquire roughly $2.1MM, but the Cubs cannot simply trade them that amount. They must trade the full value of their international bonus slots, which are $2.288MM, $458K, $309K and $207K. In this hypothetical example, the Cubs’ top bonus slot would be too large for the White Sox to acquire, unless the Sox were to send back a slot of smaller value.

International bonus pools are determined based on the reverse order of the previous year’s standings, meaning that the Astros have the largest budget ($5,015,400) while the Cardinals have the lowest ($1,866,300). The Yankees have drawn a great deal of attention for their reported plans to shatter their spending limitations, but reports have also indicated that the Rays and Red Sox are willing to incur the maximum penalties as well. This year, penalties for exceeding bonus pools has changed slightly from previous signing periods. Here’s the breakdown:

  • All overages are taxed at 100 percent.
  • Exceed bonus pool by 5 to 10 percent: Team is not allowed to sign a player for more than $500K in the following international signing period.
  • Exceed by 10 to 15 percent: Team is not allowed to sign a player for more than $300K in the following international signing period.
  • Exceed by more than 15 percent: Team is not allowed to sign a player for more than $300K in the following two international signing periods.

So then, who are the players to watch for on the international circuit, and where might they be signing? Baseball America’s Ben Badler and MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez each have Top 30 rankings posted. Scout.com’s Kiley McDaniel also has a Top 30 list, though his is a bit different, as he’s ranked the international prospects in the order of his projected bonus for each (along with a prediction for where each will sign). Badler also projects landing spots (subscription required) and provides scouting reports (likewise) for his Top 30 along with some other names to watch. Subscribers to Scout.com can see McDaniel’s full scouting reports on each player as well as video footage of most of the top names in the class. Sanchez’s list contains video and scouting reports that are free to the public.

Tomorrow figures to feature many reports on international prospects signing (or agreeing to terms), as many clubs have verbal agreements in place already and are merely waiting for the signing period to officially begin. Last year a significant portion of the Top 30 international amateurs had an agreement reported on the first day, so those who are interested in the international prospect scene will have no shortage of transaction news to keep up with tomorrow. We’ll track all of the international signing news using the 2014-15 International Prospects tag here on MLBTR.

Infield Prospect Yoan Moncada Leaves Cuba

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Well-regarded young infielder Yoan Moncada has left Cuba with apparent intentions of qualifying for MLB free agency, reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. The 19-year-old switch-hitter would be subject to international spending limits, making for an interesting wrinkle in the soon-to-launch July 2 signing period.

Moncada was able to make his departure from his home nation through legal means, according to Sanchez, and must now secure residency in another country before petitioning MLB for free agency and receiving clearance from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. As Obstructedview.net explained back in May, Moncada — once a teammate of Jose Abreu and Erisbel Arruebarrena with Cienfuegos — had sought government permission to leave his club and country.

Moncada has spent most of his time at second base, though he reportedly is also capable of playing short or third. Sanchez lists him at 6’2″ tall and 205 lb. Moncada’s Serie Nacional statistics and a highlight video can also be found at Obstructedview.net. In 367 total plate appearances over the last two years — all before he turned 19 — he owns a .277/.388/.380 line with four long balls and 21 stolen bases (against 11 times caught stealing).

With teams already well along in lining up commitments to July 2 prospects, it will be interesting to see how they react to Moncada’s potential entry. Though he could still be months away from being able to sign, he would likely become eligible in the upcoming period if all goes smoothly. Unlike most of the players who may command significant bonuses, Moncada is a more developed player who has spent some time against higher-level competition.

Several clubs — most notably, the Yankees — are already said to be prepared to exceed their bonus allotments. The penalty for exceeding the cap includes a 100% tax on the overage and varying caps on future bonuses, depending upon how much the spending goes over the cap. The maximum penalty, which attaches when a team exceeds its pool by 15% or more, precludes a club signing any player for more than $300K during each of the next two signing periods.

International Prospect Links: Top 30, Padres, Nats, Bonuses

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We’re less than two weeks away from the July 2 international signing deadline, and MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez has published his ranking of the Top 30 International prospects for the 2014-15 class. Most of these amateur players are still just teenagers, including a number of 15- and 16-year-olds. Players that are 15 years of age currently — such as No. 3 ranked prospect Adrian Rondon — will be eligible to officially sign when they turn 16 (July 7, in Rondon’s case). Sanchez’s list is topped by Dominican shortstop Dermis Garcia and includes free video, scouting reports and rankings of each players’ tools on the 20-80 scouting scale. It’s a must-read for all that are interested in the international market and an indispensable tool that will be referenced heavily on MLBTR in the coming months.

Here’s more in the international prospect front…

  • Sanchez tweets that the Padres have signed 21-year-old Dominican right-hander Dinelson Lamet for a $100K bonus. While teams are currently not allowed to sign any more players from the 2013-14 crop of July 2 prospects, Sanchez adds in a followup tweet that the Friars squeezed this one in just under the wire, finalizing the deal last week.
  • Nationals scouting director Johnny DiPuglia tells Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that the Nats will be targeting quantity as opposed to spending their budget on two or three high-priced assets. Washington is hoping to add 12 to 15 players to its ranks, says DiPuglia, adding that the areas of focus for the Nats were left-handers with potential for high velocity, speedy up-the-middle players and bats with raw power.
  • Baseball America’s Ben Badler posted an update of his projected Top 10 signing bonuses this week, with the Yankees projected to issue four of the 10 (including a near-$3MM bonus for the previously mentioned Garcia). However, the Bronx Bombers don’t occupy the top spot on the list; that goes to the Brewers, who are expected to give Dominican shortstop Gilbert Lara (Sanchez’s No. 4 prospect) a bonus north of $3MM. Badler’s piece requires a BA subscription which is highly recommended to international prospect aficionados, as BA will be producing loads of scouting reports and projections on the July 2 class in the coming weeks.
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