International Prospect Signing Rumors

CJ9 said:
Yes, it’s January now. Switched to then during 2020 I believe.
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January makes much more sense. The old July deadline fell well into the short-season league seasons, which didn't allow most of them to compete in the year they signed. Moving it to January provides an opportunity for both the player and team as the player will go to a spring minor league camp and then get assigned from there, usually to the Dominican Summer League (and rarely to the Florida orComplex League) to play in the upcoming season.
 
Quick update here. In 2023, we are expected to sign OF Luis Guanipa. Baseball America has him as a top 10 intl guy and Fangraphs has him as the #6 international prospect in his class.

Now there’s a tweet out about us signing an elite 2024 guy - SS/3B Jose Perdomo. Scouting report from the tweet: The Atlanta Braves are the favorites to sign Venezuelan SS/3B Jose Perdomo during the 2024 international signing period. Big power & bat speed. Plus throwing arm. Solid athlete. Expected to receive one of the biggest bonuses next winter. Consensus Top 3 guy in the 2024 class.

Here’s the tweet, which includes video highlights: https://twitter.com/joedoylemilb/status/1605232810788372482?s=21&t=4H3ZefpMmY4kwQWaCM_Bew
 
Here’s a link to a longer article with more on Perdomo: https://www.prospectslive.com/prosp...lbs-upcoming-2024-international-amateur-class

SS/3B JOSE PERDOMO – ATLANTA BRAVES

It’s uncommon for a 15-year-old described as “already more physically mature” to be graded so high in scouting circles. Perdomo bucks that trend as a potential middle-of-the-order thumper with significant offensive tools and strong traits at the hot corner. He lacks the upside and ceiling of Cruz and De Vries, but according to the folks I spoke to, he’s unanimously considered the third-best prospect in the 2023-2024 class.

A 5-foot-11-inch, 175-pound infielder, Perdomo is already much stronger than most of his peers and it shows on the field. He already possesses explosive bat speed with real, tangible impact he showcases in games. Perdomo has ringing gap power and is considered the most dangerous teenage bat in Venezuela. When it is all said and done, Perdomo could grow into a 30-homer bat with average bat-to-ball skills.

Defensively, he’s an average athlete with more strength than twitch on the dirt. Perdomo is an average runner and already features a plus throwing arm; a howitzer for a player his age. He’s still playing shortstop in showcase and tournament settings, though most believe he’s destined to shift over as he grows and adds more strength.

“Perdomo is far more physically advanced than his peers,” one AL international scouting director said. “It’s not bad though. Not a bad body like that. He’s just really strong. Ton of strength. Ton of leverage. Just a solid body guy. Loud.”

Scouts are a bit more split on where the hit tool will eventually end up. He’s got some loft to his swing and one director thinks it may limit his consistency on swings in the zone. He’s shown a patient approach and doesn’t necessarily expand the zone, but Perdomo is looking to do damage and that may eventually cap his batting average on a year-to-year basis. The overarching opinion here is a future fringe-average to average hit tool with plus power. He’s a future lineup anchor, maybe something akin to Eugenio Saurez if it all clicks.
 
Hulavol said:
speaking of - how is maitan and where is he and etc ?
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2022 was his best minor league season yet, but it still wasn't that great. Had a .736 OPS in AA with the Angels' affiliate in Rocket City. Switch-hitter who hits miserably against LHP. Not on Angels' 40-man roster and went unclaimed in the Rule 5 for the second straight year. Strikes out a lot. Still only 22
 
I know nothing about scouting 15 year olds, but wouldn’t a premium be put on athleticism rather than strength for a kid who’s obviously an early bloomer?
 
Enscheff said:
I know nothing about scouting 15 year olds, but wouldn’t a premium be put on athleticism rather than strength for a kid who’s obviously an early bloomer?
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It's the inexact science of scouting these 15 year old "studs" internationally. To be honest, it's more likely scouts fall in love with strength projection more than athleticism. IMHO, this has always been a comparison and projection exercise in futility despite the high level prospects being ok as mlb players.

I couldn't give you all examples but two things come to mind when you see scouting reports :
1.) Physically mature, current plus tools
2.) Projected to move positions.

When I see this I worry that the advanced approach they talk about is against less physically mature prospects. For instance :
a). Kevin Maitan: Universally loved by EVERY single scout there was. He physically looked the part, played the part and Miggy Cabrera and Chipper Jones were his comps. However he was light years ahead of any 15 year old in his class and compared to 18 or older IMHO

b). Robert Pausen: Braves didn't get him thanks to Coppy, but we would have. Physically gifted at 13-14 and fluid..smooth..mlb movements already. If both he and Maitan panned out, no one would miss Dansby. Period! The rub? Less physically gifted players and competition. Every scout drooled over his STRENGTH and "maturity."

TLDR: physically mature and "advanced" players tend to garner more hype. I'll add..the difference in hype and realizing potential is all predicated on WORK ETHIC! Maitan knew he was a bonus baby 2 years before he was. He was a star in his own mind. Same with Derian Cruz. It is why I loved Pache. He worked hard as hell every single day to become better. Hasn't worked out, but I wish you all could have seen his dedication to getting better. I saw it in rookie ball. Cruz..rock star. Maitan...rock star. Hopefully Maitan figures it out. He does have tools...will he work for stardom? Eh...

Braves hit the market well after the penalties. Benitez, Tavarez, Guanipa, Glod and Brito look to have tools. Time will tell.
 
Cohen catching a lot of hate from the spending spree. Owners were cool with everything but the Correa signing.
 
Deester11 said:
It's the inexact science of scouting these 15 year old "studs" internationally. To be honest, it's more likely scouts fall in love with strength projection more than athleticism. IMHO, this has always been a comparison and projection exercise in futility despite the high level prospects being ok as mlb players.

I couldn't give you all examples but two things come to mind when you see scouting reports :
1.) Physically mature, current plus tools
2.) Projected to move positions.

When I see this I worry that the advanced approach they talk about is against less physically mature prospects. For instance :
a). Kevin Maitan: Universally loved by EVERY single scout there was. He physically looked the part, played the part and Miggy Cabrera and Chipper Jones were his comps. However he was light years ahead of any 15 year old in his class and compared to 18 or older IMHO

b). Robert Pausen: Braves didn't get him thanks to Coppy, but we would have. Physically gifted at 13-14 and fluid..smooth..mlb movements already. If both he and Maitan panned out, no one would miss Dansby. Period! The rub? Less physically gifted players and competition. Every scout drooled over his STRENGTH and "maturity."

TLDR: physically mature and "advanced" players tend to garner more hype. I'll add..the difference in hype and realizing potential is all predicated on WORK ETHIC! Maitan knew he was a bonus baby 2 years before he was. He was a star in his own mind. Same with Derian Cruz. It is why I loved Pache. He worked hard as hell every single day to become better. Hasn't worked out, but I wish you all could have seen his dedication to getting better. I saw it in rookie ball. Cruz..rock star. Maitan...rock star. Hopefully Maitan figures it out. He does have tools...will he work for stardom? Eh...

Braves hit the market well after the penalties. Benitez, Tavarez, Guanipa, Glod and Brito look to have tools. Time will tell.
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I frankly don't know how one can assess a kid at 15 years old. It's not just the international kids. There's some national junior baseball association in the states that hands out awards for the best kids at certain age groups and I remember that both Kyle Davies and Jordan Schafer were national players of the year in some age category. That's likely attributable somewhat to skill mastery as much as athleticism.

There's a ton of these baseball academies in Latin America with all sorts of on-going competitions, so I imagine scouts get a comprehensive look at most of these guys. Some, like Ronald Acuna, fall through the cracks to some extent, but there is probably ample book on most of the top-tier kids.

Still and all, I wasn't much of a basketball player, but I played through junior high and high school and there were a bunch of guys who were absolute studs in junior high who turned into duds by senior high because they matured early physically and could be a force in junior high, but then stopped growing and weren't savvy enough to adjust their game when everyone else caught up in terms of height and strength. Rough analogy, but my guess is it's somewhat the same when looking at the international market.
 
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50PoundHead said:
I frankly don't know how one can assess a kid at 15 years old. It's not just the international kids. There's some national junior baseball association in the states that hands out awards for the best kids at certain age groups and I remember that both Kyle Davies and Jordan Schafer were national players of the year in some age category. That's likely attributable somewhat to skill mastery as much as athleticism.

There's a ton of these baseball academies in Latin America with all sorts of on-going competitions, so I imagine scouts get a comprehensive look at most of these guys. Some, like Ronald Acuna, fall through the cracks to some extent, but there is probably ample book on most of the top-tier kids.

Still and all, I wasn't much of a basketball player, but I played through junior high and high school and there were a bunch of guys who were absolute studs in junior high who turned into duds by senior high because they matured early physically and could be a force in junior high, but then stopped growing and weren't savvy enough to adjust their game when everyone else caught up in terms of height and strength. Rough analogy, but my guess is it's somewhat the same when looking at the international market.
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Agreed with those thoughts for sure. That's why they say scouting is inexact. What impresses one scout, won't impress the other. Additionally, every scout wants to be the first to discover or mine the far reaches of earth to find the next prodigy. There is a reason these clubs know who they'll give big money to before these kids turn 16.

I'm always cautious of the physically mature, little projection players but that's just me. The chore for any organization is about projection though. It's why Acuña slipped through. He had tools but a lot of scouts didn't know if he'd reach his ceiling. I'm glad they over looked him. But then...there's my guy...Maitan. I now know who ate Gilbert Grape.
 
It just seems to me the real international stud players are signed for like $100k. I can’t remember a single hyped international guy making an impact. All that hoopla usually turns into a 4th OFer.

To me, the play would be to sign every single athletic kid away from sports like soccer for $100k, and then groom them in a massive Latin America baseball/academic academy to let them mature as baseball players. If one of those kids turn into a 3+ win player each year the entire program pays for itself easily.
 
Enscheff said:
It just seems to me the real international stud players are signed for like $100k. I can’t remember a single hyped international guy making an impact. All that hoopla usually turns into a 4th OFer.

To me, the play would be to sign every single athletic kid away from sports like soccer for $100k, and then groom them in a massive Latin America baseball/academic academy to let them mature as baseball players. If one of those kids turn into a 3+ win player each year the entire program pays for itself easily.
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Eh… there are plenty of busts but many of the best Latin players of the last 20 years were all bonus babies.

Vlad Guerrero Jr.
Miguel Cabrera
Wander Franco
Miguel Sano
Eloy Jiminez
Gary Sanchez
Tatis Jr
Juan Soto
Xander Bogaerts
 
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