The Twins have agreed to a deal with Dominican shortstop Wander Javier, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. Javier rated as the No. 9 prospect in this year’s international class, per Badler. Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs ranked him fifth, and MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez ranked him eighth.
Javier will earn a $4MM bonus, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports on Twitter, matching the figure reported by McDaniel dating back to early Spring. Sanchez’s scouting report indicates that Javier has plus raw power and a plus throwing arm with a chance to stick at shortstop, though there’s also a possibility that his 6’0″, 165-pound frame could grow to the point where he’ll have to move to third. McDaniel writes that he ran a 7.01 in the 60-yard dash in February (50-grade) and could pick up a step or two as he matures. He has a raw hitting approach writes Badler (subscription required), and while his swing can get long and flatten out, some scouts project above-average power down the line. Badler notes that tools like Javier’s are tough to come by in the draft, causing multiple teams to be drawn to his ceiling.
