Dodgers' 16-Year-Old Makes GCL Debut

Someone already touched on this in the Community thread for July 4, but I think this warrants a thread of its own.

A 16-year-old Dominican RHP the Dodgers signed on the first day of the international signing period, Jose Dominguez, made his pro debut today, and not in the Dominican Summer League, but the GCL.  He struck out 7 in 2.0 innings, gave up one hit, and no walks. It is just two innings, but what if Dominguez continues to excel? 16-year-olds who do well in the GCL at 16, like Elvis Andrus and Jose Tabata, almost instantly gain recognition as ELITE prospects.

Dominguez is 6'0" and 180 lbs.  He has a fastball that touches 90 (but his velocity will surely increase with age) and he has a curve. A couple days ago Logan White was quoted as saying that "It is rare to see a kid as polished as he is."

Now as Ross Perot would say, here's the beauty part. Dominguez signed for $50,000.  Not the high six figures or even seven figures everybody gets excited about their teams throwing at international players.  Baseball America has made it clear that historically the success rate for Latin Americans signed for huge money is NOT good.  Most Dominicans who end up doing really well in the majors signed for modest sums, and I tend to think that avoiding the over-priced guys is the best strategy for signing players on the international market.