International signing period begins:
The 2024 international signing period has officially begun. Young players from countries like the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and others often agree to deals years before they become official, but today is the day when pen can be put to paper. Each club has a fixed spending pool which they can use to give bonuses to players they sign from now until December 15. The lower-revenue clubs get larger pools and clubs sacrifice pool space by signing free agents that have rejected qualifying offers, while pool money can also be traded. Ben Badler of Baseball America is tracking each club’s pool space and the players they have agreements with.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/the-opener-bellinger-international-signing-spring-training.htmlNats have $5.925 million, and have unofficial agreements in place for the following guys, per BA:
Victor Hurtado, OF, Dominican Republic (Scouting report here)
Angel Feliz, SS, Dominican Republic (Scouting report here)
Eddy Marmolejos, SS, Dominican Republic
Robert Santos, OF, Dominican Republic
Jean Carlos Robles, RHP, Dominican Republic
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2024-mlb-international-signings-tracker/FG (Longenhagen) has scouting reports on a few of these guys, Hurtado is his #5 among the amateurs, Feliz his #40:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2024-international-prospect-rankings-and-scouting-reports/Explaining his rankings, he points out about how they translate to the MLB draft and Hurtado's "defect:"
Once you get past the top three players in the class, the rest have at least one gap in their skill set or profile, be it a perceived cap on their offensive ceiling (Jose Perdomo, Fernando Cruz) or the fact that they’re buried way down the defensive spectrum (Adolfo Sanchez, Victor Hurtado). Those 45 FV prospects (basically a mid-to-late first round draft grade) will be fantastic and exciting additions to their new clubs, but considerations like this are how the FV layers are made.
Hurtado has a projected bonus of $2.7 million and a FV of 45 as a right fielder.
6' 2", 175 lbs, 16+
Hurtado is an ultra-projectable left-handed hitting outfield prospect with a lovely swing, one that features power-promising loft without compromising contact. He is as loose and flexible as any prospect in this class, and the way his body moves when he's throwing from the outfield is reminiscent of Ichiro. Hurtado's swing has some length, but it's likely to shorten up as he gets stronger and doesn't have to use his whole body to ignite it. He's expected to sign with the Nationals for between $2.5 million and $3 million.
Feliz has a projected bonus of $1.8 million and an FV of 35+ at 3B.
6'3", 190 lbs. Righty. 17.
Feliz is a lanky, broad-shouldered, slower-twitch athlete with some swing length and stiffness. Teams tracking bat-to-ball performance have a better eval on Feliz's hit tool than I do based on eyeball looks at his swing. This is the second consecutive year Washington has a big bonus player coming out of the Dominican "Banana Academy," a group that has sometimes showcased in Arizona while I've lived here. There are teams that like Feliz's hit/power combo enough to project him as a third base regular. I'm a bit more apprehensive, but see the power/projection elements here.
write ups are linked through the Board
https://www.fangraphs.com/prospects/the-board/international-players?sortcol=7&sortdir=descI'll add that the names Marmolejos and Robles are familiar, but I'm not sure if they are brothers or what.
