International News, Rumor and Signing Thread

auyushu said:
I'm not either, but I really don't see anything there that's too crazy bad. Not a ton of lift, but no horrible bat wraps, crazy movement, or anything of that nature.
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I mean, I don't have a horrible bat wrap or crazy movement, but my swing also has 0 power.

I'm not trying to demean the kid, I want to believe Kiley's scouting report. But when you watch the swings of the top offensive players in the class and then compare them to Gutierrez, there is a pretty clear difference. There seems to be basically no power in his current swing, unless he wasn't really trying in that video.
 
Horsehide Harry said:
My issue with rankings is that they often don't make much sense when taken into context with what they are likely to become. For instance, on the MLB list, at #11 is David Garcia a catcher. He has a 45 hit tool, 30 power, 60 run, 40 arm, 55 field. Then they have Gutierrez at #17, also a catcher who has a 40 hit tool, 40 power, 20 run, 60 arm and 70 field. So Garcia is better rated based upon what? His run ability? He's a catcher! Even if he can run now, by the time he's at the ML level he'll be a cripple just like all the other catchers.
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I don't put a lot of stock in comparing the tool grades. Those are obviously out of whack. I just use them to get an idea of the kind of player they think each kid is, so I just try to look at them in a vacuum. Based on the tool grades, other guys would be higher than Maitan. But I see the tool grades and just come to the conclusion that they believe he has great potential with his bat and great power, a big-time arm, pretty good defense, and not a ton of speed.
 
smootness said:
unless he wasn't really trying in that video.
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Well, on several of those swings he didn't really look like he was trying to drive the ball at all or use max effort, was just making contact. Only one it looked like he even tried to drive was the last one. I mean even the MLB report said he had some pop and good gap power, which those swings he was doing wouldn't come close to doing.
 
Horsehide Harry said:
My issue with rankings is that they often don't make much sense when taken into context with what they are likely to become. For instance, on the MLB list, at #11 is David Garcia a catcher. He has a 45 hit tool, 30 power, 60 run, 40 arm, 55 field. Then they have Gutierrez at #17, also a catcher who has a 40 hit tool, 40 power, 20 run, 60 arm and 70 field. So Garcia is better rated based upon what? His run ability? He's a catcher! Even if he can run now, by the time he's at the ML level he'll be a cripple just like all the other catchers.
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Add to the fact these kids are 15 or 16 when the scouting reports are made. It's difficult enough projecting an 18-year-old US high school senior and there's usually a lot of physical development between the ages of 16 and 18.
 
A few things to be said:
I would like to sign Lazarito among the other prospects we are favorites for... but we shouldn't forget that there are tons of prospects that aren't on the list.
Because they weren't passed to sign with a club (and will be eligible, just not yet), they aren't on the list, these include players such as Adrian Morejon and Jorge Ona. I'd rather attempt to sign those two players than Lazarito because I think they're overall better players.
And there are also a lot of players that aren't on the list that can be better: Acuna, Albies, Ventura for example were never on the lists..

I wouldn't be sad that we only have 6 players on the top 30 but focus that we are one of the teams that will go HUGE on the intl market this year and probably not worry about $$ because if we end up trading veterans.. we have so much money in the books and money that we can afford to spend.
 
For those disappointed by the placements of our signings:

Josh: How much stock do you put in the July 2 international player rankings? I imagine there is even more variance there with how individual teams value specific players than in the Rule 4 draft

Klaw: Very little, but I’m not criticizing the guys who put those rankings together – you’re talking about mostly 15-year-olds, sometimes kids who haven’t been seen in months because they’ve been locked up already with various not-that-legal deals. It’s an impossible ask.
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You're just going to have to trust our FO's prospect evaluations in this case. I think you'll find that Gutierrez, despite his #17 ranking on this list, commands a huge bonus.
 
Brief summary.....

Maitan - Read an old Chipper Jones scouting report and replace Chipper with Maitan. Best 16 year old to come along in years and should get a bonus north of 4 million.

Abrahan Gutierrez - Already 6'2 205 pounds. Should get around 3.5 million. Some scouts say he didnt make the progress over the last year they expected which I guess is why some people have lowered him in the rankings.

Yunior Severino - Dominican SS who wont stick at SS so he will move somewhere else eventually. Switch hitter. Expected to sign for around 2 million.

Livan Soto - Another SS from Venezuela, 5'11 165 pounds likely to get a bonus around 1 million.

Juan Contreras - Right handed throwing Domican pitcher. Expected bonus around 1 million that should be the tops for the class other than Cuban players. 6'1 180, touched 94 with FB already but control is currently 1998 Wohlers level.

All these are listed as likely to sign with the Braves.
 
The full thing, according to a friend:
Venezuelan shortstop Kevin Maitan trains with Henderson Martinez, whose program has produced Angels lefthander Ricardo Sanchez (2013) and Mariners center fielder Brayan Hernandez (2014). With teams scouting those high-profile players, they have also had several years worth of looks at Maitan, who many consider the top player in this year’s class and one of the best 16-year-old Venezuelan prospects to come along in years. At 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, Maitan is a switch-hitter with power, athleticism, above-average speed and a strong arm. While some scouts expect Maitan to outgrow shortstop and end up at third base, he should start his career at shortstop and some believe he can stick there. Overall, Maitan is one of the most exciting 16-year-old prospects to come along in a while with high-ceiling upside. The Braves are the favorites for Maitan, whose bonus will certainly surpass the $4 million mark and set a record for a Venezuelan amateur.

Venezuelan catcher Abrahan Gutierrez, who trains at Carlos Guillen’s academy, was a high-profile player last summer, having played on Venezuela’s 15U World Cup team in Mexico in August 2014 when he was still 14. Gutierrez, a big-bodied 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, is likely to sign with the Braves and command a bonus of around $3.5 million, which would likely be the No. 2 bonus in the country after Maitan, though several scouts said the righthanded-hitting Gutierrez didn’t make the progress they were hoping to see from him over the past year.

Dominican shortstop Yunior Severino is another seven-figure likely to sign with the Braves for a bonus that could get close to $2 million. Severino will probably move off shortstop, but he’s a switch-hitter who impressed scouts with his quick wrists, bat speed and power. The Braves are also the favorites to sign another shortstop, Livan Soto out of Venezuela, likely for just north of $1 million. Soto is a skinny 5-foot-11, 165 pounds with soft hands in the field and good bat control with a line-drive stroke even if there isn’t much power right now. Dominican righthander Juan Contreras should command a similar bonus to Soto and is expected to end up the top-paid pitcher in the class, aside from Cuban players. The Braves are the favorite to land Contreras, who has been up to 94 mph already and should throw even harder once he fills out his 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame, though he will have to improve his erratic control.
 
As long as we can get Maitan not really concerned with much else, thats the big fish this team needs.
 
My goodness we are gping all out. I'm not sure how the international market works but are we gonna get penalized for spending so much?

After this draft and next year's plus this international signing we are gonna be STACKED in the minors.
 
2 years where we cant spend more than 250k(I think) on any 1 prospect. Thats not really that terrible for the Braves since they always liked the quantity over quality approach. Might also be an international draft in that time but you know MLB is going to **** with the Braves somehow like making us forfeit first round picks so we dont escape penalties. Hopefully the Yankees will also be in penalty years so MLB wont do that.
 
The Braves are also the favorites for 3B Yenci Pena out of the Dominican. He is ranked ahead of Juan Contreras and Livan Soto on MLBPipeline.

Also, I wouldn't count us out of the Lazarito sweepstakes.
 
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