2013 International Signings Preview

Each year, the coverage of the international signing period gets a little easier due to information being more readily available (thank you internet). MLB is working on making this more mainstream with the possibility of an international draft and having showcases of these talents in one place, similar to the existing MLB Draft showcases put on by Perfect Game and other showcases. This will only make the process of identifying talent better and easier.

We are still talking about 16 year olds and it's all about projection. Imagining what these guys will be in 10 years is very hard but that's what we have to do here. The likelihood of identifying these guys accurately is about 4%, so take this for what it is worth. The rational side of me says to ignore these guys for a few years but the obsessive in me won't let me. I need to be on top of this for some insane reason, so I've watched all the video I can find, taken notes and this is what I have come up with.

Middle Infielders

1 Gleyber Torres SS R/R 5'11" 184 12/3/96 Venezuela
Short quick swing. Fast hands. Impressive hitting ability. Smooth with the glove. Good arm.

4 Yimmelvyn Alonzo SS R/R 6'1" 185 3/10/97 Dominican Republic
Love the swing. Love the power potential. Good defensive actions. Edgar Renteria comp.

16 Yeltsin Gudino SS R/R 6' 152 1/17/97 Venezuela
Good speed. Solid defender. Will need to get stronger to impact with the bat.

21 Carlos Herrera SS L/R 6' 145 9/23/96 Venezuela
Quick feet. Good hands. Very good defense. Swing reminds me a bit of Kenny Lofton.

22 Lucas Tirado SS S/R 6'2" 175 12/13/96 Dominican Republic
Interesting hitter. Polished. Not sure he can stick at SS. Might be a LF/2B.

23 Marten Gasparini SS S/R 6' 175 5/24/97 Italy
Smooth actions but seem a bit stiff on defense and at the dish. Will need time to adjust to better competition.

25 Jesus Lopez SS Nicaragua
Good switch hitter. His best skill. Likely a 2B due to arm and defensive ability.

28 Yeyson Yrrizarri SS R/R 6' 175 2/2/97 Dominican Republic
Big arm. Good bat but not special. Likely a 3B.

29 Franly Mallen SS R/R 6'1" 170 5/27/97 Dominican Republic
Aggressive swing. Good arm. Solid actions at SS. Might be a 2B.

33 Wladimir Galindo SS R/R 6'3" 210 11/6/96 Venezuela
Stays inside the ball. Good power projection. Could potentially stick at SS. Plus at 3B.

36 Joan Mauricio SS L/R 6'2" 150 10/22/96 Dominican Republic
Skinny. Smooth line drive stroke. Could be interesting.

41 Carlos Hiciano SS R/R 6'2" 175 10/29/96 Dominican Republic
Good defensive ss. Can hit.

OTHER NAMES:

42 Wilson Amador SS R/R 6'1" 160 12/14/96 D.R.
45 Luis Carpio SS R/R 5'11" 170 Venezuela
48 Yonauris Rodriguez SS D.R.
Yeffry De Aza SS R/R 6' 170 6/14/97 D.R.
Smaykin Gonzalez SS R/R 6'2" 183 9/x/96 D.R.
Willy Castro SS R/R 6' 150 4/24/97 D.R.
Hector Luis Martinez SS R/R 6' 170 11/1/96 D.R.
Ozhaino Albies SS S/R 5'7" 133 1/7/97 Curacao
Lucas Sakay SS R/R 5'5" 130 Brazil
Ruddy Giron SS R/R 5'11" 175 D.R.
Wander Franco SS S/R 6' 180 D.R.

2 Rafael Devers 3B L/R 6' 185 10/24/96 D.R.
Line drive swing. Power projection is there. If you wanted to get crazy, I could see someone saying 7 hit, 6 power, 6 arm, 6 D, 4 run. Good bat. Strong arm, good hands. At least an average defender. Often linked with the Red Sox.

10 Lewin Diaz 1B L/L 6'3" 195 9/19/96 D.R.
First baseman all the way. Big power potential. Hit tool is solid. Often linked with the Twins.

12 Luis Encarnacion 3B R/R 6'2" 185 8/9/97
D.R. Really strong power potential. Inefficient defensive actions but could be solid at 3B with work.

24 Michael De Leon 3B S/R 6'3" 160 1/14/97 D.R.
Very good defender at SS. Strong arm. Good line drive approach. Solid hitter from both sides.

31 Bryan Lizardo 3B S/R 6'1" 185 7/26/97 D.R.
Solid power potential from both sides.

35 Anderson Franco 3B R/R 6'1 182 8/15/97 D.R.
Very long swing. Slow. Good actions at 3B but that lower half will force him to 1B.

Roni Tapia 3B R/R 6'3" 175 4/3/97 D.R.
Emmanuel Herrera 3B S/R 5'11" 175 D.R.

Catchers

11 Ihan Bernal C L/R 6' 190 10/20/96 Panama
Smooth lefty swing. Good defender. Should be able to acclimate easily to pro ball.

13 Jose Herrera C S/R 5'11" 177 2/24/97 Venezuela
Really quick, short swing. More power potential from the right side. Quick release. Arm is ok.

30 Ali Sanchez C Venezuela
He's a Venezuelan catcher with good defense and soild contact ability.

Rene Pinto C R/R 5'10" 160 11/2/96 Venezuela
Luis Torrealba C L/R 6' 205 9/23/96 Venezuela
Hidekel Gonzalez C R/R 5'11" 175 D.R.
Meky Coronado C R/R 6' 175 Venezuela
Rafelin Nunez Guzman C R/R 6'1" 195 D.R.

Outfielders

3 Eloy Jimenez OF S/R 6'4" 200 11/27/96 D.R.
Big guy. Strong arm. Runs well under way. Level swing. Big frame projects power but he's a project, offensively and defensively.

5 Leonardo Molina OF R/R 6'3" 165 8/1/97 D.R.
Impressive contact ability. Hits the ball hard. Will grow into solid power. Speed is plus. Could be a well rounded CF.

6 Micker Zapata OF R/R 6'3" 225 9/11/96 D.R.
Leveraged swing. Quick path to the ball. High follow through. Good leverage.

8 Luis Asuncion OF R/R 6'3" 180 2/27/97 D.R.
Big power potential. Will have to tone it down a little to improve consistency but all the tools are here.

14 Jose Almonte OF R/R 6'4" 205 9/9/96 D.R.
Plus hit tool potential. Really big power. Corner guy but I like the bat. Thick build that concerns me a little.

17 Greifer Andrade OF R/R 6'1" 186 1/27/97 Venezuela
Impressive physical specimen. Somewhat long swing but impacts the ball well.

26 Felix Osorio OF R/R 6'3" 190 11/13/96 D.R.
Big power projection. Corner guy but the bat is the key.

27 Wasner Peguero OF R/R 6'2" 185 9/7/96 D.R.
Longish swing. Not that quick. Arm is ok. Not a special talent but a long way from his potential.

32 Christhian Vasquez OF L/L 5'11" 180 9/11/96 Venezuela
Really good hitter.

34 Nicolas Pierre Figueroa OF R/R 6'3" 175 11/13/96 D.R.
Good contact bat. Average arm and speed profile in CF. If he can't handle CF, he's not a very good prospect.

38 Nestor Tejada OF L/L 5'10" 180 4/17/97 Venezuela
Short, stocky lefty hitter. Nice swing but not a great athlete. LF only profile.

39 Mikey Edie OF R/R 6' 165 6/3/97 Venezuela
Long, slow swing.

40 Freddy Rodriguez OF L/R 6'1" 180 11/15/96 Venezuela
44 Carlos Talavera OF Venezuela
47 Yohan Aybar OF R/R 6' 165 2/26/97 fraud D.R.
Jeramias Portorreal OF L/L 6'2" 180 8/7/97 D.R.
Dayan Perez Olmo OF S/R 5'11" 160 11/15/96 D.R.
Johnny Sims OF R/R 6'3" 175 10/29/96 D.R.
Ronald Rosario OF L/L 6'2" 160 2/8/97 D.R.
Edward Pena OF L/R 6'1 200 D.R.

Pitchers

7 Erick Julio P R/R 6'1" 150 9/22/96 Colombia
Can hit 90 now. Breaking ball flashes plus with more potential. This is a guy you can dream on.

9 Marcos Diplan P R/R 5'11" 165 9/18/96 D.R.
Big arm. Up to 94 but cuts himself off. Needs work but he's 16. He has a lot of potential.

15 Luis Enrique Barrios P L/L 6'3" 190 3/4/97 Colombia
Very good athlete. Solid delivery. Very good projection. Low 90's velo that should bump up in the next year or two.

18 Mayky Perez P R/R 6'5" 210 9/26/96 D.R.
Huge kid. Up to mid 90's with some effort. Unusual delivery will be hard to repeat. Will need patience but reward could be very high.

19 Jen-Ho Tseng P R/R 6'1" 200 10/3/94 Taiwan
Strong, thick build. Looks more like a mid rotation guy but has potential for more. Really like him.

20 Erling Moreno P R/R 6'3" 190 1/13/97 Colombia
Easy smooth delivery. Nice breaking ball. Good projection.

37 Andres Sanchez P R/R 6'5" 190 10/7/96 Venezuela
Needs a lot of work. Very projectable but a long way from his potential.

43 Ricardo Sanchez P 5'11" 160 4/11/97 Venezuela
46 Edgar Arredondo P R/R Mexico
49 Emmanuel DeJesus P L/L 6'3" 185 12/10/96 Venezuela
Jefferson Mejia P R/R 6'7" 220 8/1/94 D.R.
Gabriel Noguera P L/L 6'2" 173 5/31/97 Venezuela
Luis Tejada P L/L 6'2" 185 D.R.
Chakiro Pina P L/L 6' 175 3/4/97 D.R.
Edery Cuello P L/L 6'1 160 D.R.
Alfredo Oropeza P R/R 6'1" 180 Venezuela