July 2, 2017 International Signing Period

julio 2018-02-11 05:12:56 UTC #785

Deleted Josh Tols from the list above - as a 28-year-old, he doesn't count against the 2017-18 international signing pool. Also, even though he's an Aussie, he has played for several US clubs in independent league baseball.

andyb 2018-02-11 05:44:03 UTC #786

They must like Tols as a LOOGY. 5'7, 165. Really has not pitched well enough to think he is a prospect at his age. Can't imagine he has big velocity at that size.

andyb 2018-02-21 19:08:59 UTC #787

Rangers acquire another $350K of slot money from the Reds.

They appear to be making a run at signing the newly eligible Julio Pablo Martinez. They accumulated extra money for Darvish and have only spent a portion of that extra cash. If they trade for the last $250K that they are allowed to get they can probably scrape together an offer close to $2 million for Martinez.

Austinfan 2018-02-21 19:53:36 UTC #788

With all the defections the last few years, how good is Cuban baseball these days?

andyb 2018-02-21 20:11:47 UTC #789

Still pretty good. Very few of the youngest players come over so imagine a league where most of the prospects age 21 and under are still playing (with older, lesser players). Of course each individual player is what matters and Martinez appears to be someone that merits up to a $2 million bonus.

In the future I am guessing Cuba could settle into a lesser version of the Dominican where there are still a dozen good prospects every year to sign. The lesser prospects (like Dominicans that sign for less than $100K) will stay in Cuba but the top tier should want to sign here. Maybe not at age 16 but certainly by the time they are 20 or 21.

fish 2018-02-21 21:09:38 UTC #790

I looked at tihs

Some hot-shot 15/16 year old pitching prospects from Cuba coming out next signing period, depending on how much you value a 15 year old throwing 96 mph.

andyb 2018-02-21 21:21:04 UTC #791

I just see Cuba slotting into a level somewhere in between the Dominican and Venezuela as producing a similar number of prospects every year. The era of older prospects coming over is almost over. The era of younger prospects developing at a normal rate is yet to come. There will be some differences with the prospects probably signing at an older age than 16 which might make them a bit more expensive (though also pare down some of the non-prospects who would have not developed between the ages of 16 and 19).

Maybe the development system in Cuba will collapse, but one would think there are 20 good young players that turn 16 ever year that would be worth $300K+ bonuses.

And the Cuban pitcher the fish noted:

gmwannabe 2018-02-22 02:10:55 UTC #792

Were the 2 pitchers, that have been linked to the phils in attendance? Not sure how much money they have left in this years coffers, but i know next year is $500K light. hope it is enough to sign those 2 pitchers. phils were linked to them before they signed santana.
gm

fish 2018-02-22 02:51:22 UTC #793

It just mentions that most in attendance were Venezuelan. Most of the guys that are locked up stop going to showcases. As for next year, if there is one thing that is easy to find more of on the cheap, it’s international signing bonus slots.

gmwannabe 2018-02-22 18:55:47 UTC #794

Fish, do we have any information out there that these 2 pitchers could be "locked up" by the phils? I've read about Castro but forget the other player's name.
gm

fish 2018-02-22 21:49:27 UTC #795

Funny you should mention- just yesterday from Ben Badler
"Dominican righthander Starlyn Castillo, a 15-year-old linked to the Phillies, threw even harder, running his fastball up to 97 mph, though he struggled with his control."

RHP Fernando Ortega is the other dominican arm linked to the Phils.

gmwannabe 2018-02-22 23:02:53 UTC #796

oops, sorry about that. i meant Castillo.

teabag259 2018-02-23 18:50:25 UTC #797

97mph at age 15 is phenomenal...but a recipe for disaster imo.

fish 2018-02-23 20:21:49 UTC #798

I think that's why the dominican/VZ bonus baby pitchers don't seem to get much more than a million bucks anymore. Who knows how much a Dominican pitcher actually throws though- at least in game situations. Certainly not the 40-70 innings you might expect from an American highschooler. He looks like he hides the ball well and is a pretty tough AB.

Austinfan 2018-02-23 20:30:26 UTC #799

Depends on his frame and how much he pitches.

bigegypt0417 2018-02-23 21:30:29 UTC #800

I don't know if you can say that until you take in to consideration his frame and such...

jimbomill 2018-02-24 13:25:22 UTC #801

That's true, surely. However, has his age been verified, or is this another case of variable birthdays?

Squire 2018-02-25 14:35:10 UTC #802

Phillies still out there signing guys in the 2017-2018 class:

Edward Barboza, a 16 year old catcher from Venezuela signed on 2/19
Maikel Garrido, a 18 year old LHP from Venezuela also signed on 2/19

andyb 2018-02-25 18:14:48 UTC #803

I think this showcase was fairly representative of the top talent maybe more than previous years. FWIW Kiley McDaniel mentioned the top names he saw in a Friday chat. Castillo does seem to be the arm mentioned with velocity, though not really as the top pitcher usually.

Those hitters:
Diego Cartaya, C, VZ
Noelvi Marte, SS, DR
Marco Luciano, SS, DR
Orelvis Martinez, SS, DR
there’s a bunch of candidates for the 5th spot, but I’ll go with the guy that ran a 6.37 in the 60: Alexeis Azuaje, SS, DR

Best Arms:
Osiel Rodriguez, RHP, Cuba
Richard Gallardo, RHP, VZ
Sandy Gaston, RHP, Cuba
Abraham Calzadilla, RHP, VZ
you can either take projection with Jerming Rosario, RHP, DR or now velo with Starlyn Castillo, RHP, DR

andyb 2018-02-28 19:07:06 UTC #804

Rangers add another $250K (presumably for Julio Pablo Martinez) from the Royals for a nominal low-level prospect.