January 15, 2023 International Signing Period

fish 2022-09-21 04:26:58 UTC #22

they weren't doing anything special, other than staying in VZ before the league shut down when most were pulling out there complex teams. This didn't mean much because the other teams were still spending on talent, just bringing them over to the DSL. Heck, the Braves couldn't sign anyone for 2 or 3 years after their fiasco and still ended up in a better place than the Phils in the middle of a rebuild no less! ugh, frustrating..

Austinfan 2022-09-21 06:53:52 UTC #23

By funneling money to people in a desperate situation, I'm sure they built up some good will.
Whether they're capable of taking advantage of that is another matter.

andyb 2022-09-21 12:17:09 UTC #24

Given the success of our Latin American program (or lack thereof) in the past decade it is hard to say that our relationships in Venezuela have been a net positive. There are more Dominican than Venezuelan players in MLB (90 vs 53 in a 2022 count). The Phillies typically sign more Venezuelan prospects than Dominican prospects though (sometimes as much as a 2-1 ratio) and many of our high dollar signings (Yhoswar Garcia for instance) are Venezuelan.

It is hard to see any competitive advantage in that data. One might even posit that the Phillies are losing some Dominican signees because the organization is seen as Venezuelan biased (that is speculation, but when most of your mid-level signings are from one country that has a lesser record of producing major leaguers then one has to wonder).

andyb 2022-12-16 18:29:39 UTC #25

Updated Fangraphs ranking of international prospects. Caba is now 9th. No other Phillies targets in the top 33 though of course we probably don't have the money for a second million dollar signing.

fish 2023-01-04 20:42:29 UTC #26

One thing that has become abundantly clear to me now is that initial rankings by the media outlets is almost entirely based on lining up rumored bonus amounts until they have a chance to learn anything about the player in the year leading up the opening of the signing period. So, not a reflection that Caba has done anything to merit a drop in his ranking, just that there is more information for the pundits to use to rank with.

Squire 2023-01-07 21:26:05 UTC #27

I kinda like having this on January 15th now. Something to obsess about after the hot stove calms down and before spring training

andyb 2023-01-09 18:09:07 UTC #28

6 days away from the start of the 2023 period, but we may need a 2028 thread.

11-year old SS Angel Montas

I had never seen this before pic.twitter.com/trpUyxexGX
— Rafa Nieves ( @mlb_agent ) January 8, 2023

bkeich 2023-01-09 19:36:09 UTC #29

11? or Dominican 11 years old (mid teens to 25)

Ball just explodes off his bat.

andyb 2023-01-10 16:06:54 UTC #30

Not new, but here is the MLB top 50. Caba is 13th. I love the legalistic language in each prospect write-up now. The [MLB Organization] has shown interest is the final line in most of the reports. Did not see anyone else linked to the Phillies in the top 50.

Squire 2023-01-11 14:53:43 UTC #31

BA is starting their expanded coverage today - The players are listed by expected bonus size. Caba comes in at #8 ($3 million expected)

andyb 2023-01-12 17:39:39 UTC #32

Our best signing of the past decade? Sixto Sanchez.

fish 2023-01-12 18:39:40 UTC #33

I was just doing some quick research on the 2022 DSL roster and stats, came across this bio for 18 yr old SS Marco Soto....hey...wait a minute, are you sure you're 18?!!

andyb 2023-01-12 18:45:54 UTC #34

I did post that over the summer when Soto had a good week. Surprised they have not fixed it yet. Well maybe not really surprised.

Squire 2023-01-12 19:59:11 UTC #35

Sam Fuld has been like a father to me......

phillychuck 2023-01-13 14:04:48 UTC #36

Phils signed 20-year-old Taiwanese relief pitcher Pan Wen-Hui who throws 98 mph:

https://twitter.com/GOCPBL/status/1613880094854098945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1613880094854098945%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=

phillychuck 2023-01-13 14:13:47 UTC #37

https://twitter.com/GOCPBL/status/1613882170904571905?cxt=HHwWgsDToZTS1OUsAAAA

HarrisburgPhan 2023-01-13 15:04:57 UTC #38

An older report that doesn't mention Phillies but gives a little background on Pan.

andyb 2023-01-13 15:31:27 UTC #39

I guess he needed to wait until this year's period (referring to the articles 7 months ago). He probably "agreed" back then, but won't "sign" until Sunday.

Good they are spending a little money on pitching this year. If our bonus to Caba is $3 million and this is $400K, we have already spent the lion's share of our $4.6 million pool.

phillychuck 2023-01-13 16:25:13 UTC #40

Does he slot in around 10 on our prospect list? It's hard to place the really inexperienced guys, but I'd guess he's below Crawford and about even with Boyd. I could be over-valuing him because he's new and was apparently aggressively pursued by multiple teams, though.

andyb 2023-01-13 16:45:12 UTC #41

Caba probably starts around where Bergolla was before he played. Which is really a big question mark but maybe 11-15 range if one had to. Assume that has not changed much off his first year (he is currently 14 on the MLB pipeline lists). I guess Caba's bonus is a bit larger, but the tools have the same plusses and minuses mostly.

The pitcher probably does not start in the top 30 at that bonus, but I also wonder if we see him in full season Clearwater this season at his age. FCL more likely and there is likely a school question as to when he could come over here.