Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2022 i Baseball America

For the second year in a row, Major League Baseball postponed the start date of the international signing period by six months. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the signing period opened each year on July 2. The 2021-22 signing period opens on Jan. 15 and runs through Dec. 15. Baseball America knows who the big names are and where they’re almost certain to sign. MLB teams are assigned roughly equivalent bonus pools to sign international amateurs and may not exceed those pools. Our ranking presented here is not an assessment of talent. Instead, it’s a board of 30 international prospects ranked in order of their expected signing bonuses. Teams often line up commitments from players multiple years in advance of their official signing date, at which point they generally are…

1. KOREY LEE, C AGE: 23. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-2. WT: 210. DRAFTED: California, 2019 (1st round). SIGNED BY: Tom Costic. TRACK RECORD: Fourteen years after the Astros drafted and developed Stanford product Jason Castro, another California-based backstop is following a similar path. The Astros surprised the industry by selecting Lee in the first round of the 2019 draft at No. 32 overall. Many teams thought Lee would be available in later rounds, but the Astros pounced due to their confidence in a bat that showed promise. The team hoped Lee’s athleticism would pay dividends behind the plate. The upside and potential Houston saw finally manifested in Lee’s first full minor league season in 2021. Lee hit .277/.340/.438 with 11 home runs in 88 games in a season spent primarily…

1. JULIO RODRIGUEZ, OF AGE: 21. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-3. WT: 210. SIGNED: Dominican Republic, 2017. SIGNED BY: Eddy Toledo/Tim Kissner TRACK RECORD: Evaluators considered Rodriguez one of the best players in the 2017 international class when he signed with the Mariners for $1.75 million, but he has exceeded even the highest expectations. Rodriguez dominated the Dominican Summer League and both Class A levels in his first two seasons, earning hyperbolic praise from scouts, coaches and opponents. He suffered a hairline fracture in his left wrist diving for a ball in summer camp in 2020, but he returned with no ill effects in 2021. Rodriguez finished second in the minor leagues with a .347 batting average and seventh with a 1.001 OPS while climbing to Double-A, a performance even more…

1. ZAC VEEN, OF AGE: 20. B-T: L-R. HT: 6-4. WT: 190. DRAFTED: HS—Port Orange, Fla., 2020 (1st round). SIGNED BY: John Cedarburg. TRACK RECORD: A talented high school player considered on the fringe of first-round consideration entering his senior year, Veen became the biggest riser during the shortened 2020 season after getting stronger and showing improved power at Spruce Creek High. The Rockies drafted him ninth overall and signed him for $5 million. Veen impressed in instructional league after signing and followed up with a sensational pro debut at Low-A Fresno in 2021. Despite a slow start, Veen batted .301 with 15 home runs, 36 stolen bases and a .900 OPS. He did that while impressing both in left and right field. SCOUTING REPORT: Veen is a true five-tool…

1. MARCO LUCIANO, SS AGE: 20. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-1. WT: 198. SIGNED: Dominican Republic, 2018. SIGNED BY: Jonathan Bautista. TRACK RECORD: For the two seasons prior to Luciano’s signing, the Giants weren’t allowed to sign any international prospect for $300,000. When the restrictions expired, the team opened its wallet and signed a star-studded class that included Luciano as well as outfielders Luis Matos and Jairo Pomares. The Giants did not hesitate to assign Luciano to the Rookie-level Arizona League to make his pro debut in 2019. He ranked as the league’s No. 2 prospect behind only the Padres’ CJ Abrams. In 2020, Luciano was invited to San Francisco’s alternate training site. He started slowly in 2021 before catching fire at Low-A San Jose. He scuffled somewhat after a promotion…

Gene Larkin’s heroics in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series might have lasted all of one pitch, but getting to that point took years of preparation. The Twins drafted Larkin in the 20th round in 1984 out of Columbia University. The native New Yorker didn’t know much about Minnesota’s big league club. He just knew he needed to hit to advance. So that’s just what Larkin did. The switch-hitting first baseman steadily climbed the minor leagues, turning in solid performances for Rookie-level Elizabethton, High-A Visalia and Double-A Orlando during his first three professional seasons. Larkin was the Twins’ minor league player of the year in 1986, when he hit .321 with 15 home runs and 104 RBIs for Orlando, but he realized that first base would not be the…

In a December 1999 story in Baseball America, Major League Baseball was clear. As Sandy Alderson, MLB’s executive vice president at the time said, “The international draft has left the station. It’s going to happen within 18 months.” For all of Alderson’s success as a baseball executive—he built the 1989 World Series-champion Athletics, put together three other pennant winners, was an early adopter of analytics and mentored Billy Beane in Oakland—this forecast was one big swing and a miss. It is 22 years later, and while MLB owners have pushed for a draft over the last two decades, international players still sign as free agents rather than going through a draft. A lot has changed over that time, with owners putting in place more restrictions on what teams are allowed…

1. REID DETMERS, LHP AGE: 22. B-T: L-L. HT: 6-2. WT: 210. DRAFTED: Louisville, 2020 (1st round). SIGNED BY: John Burden. TRACK RECORD: Detmers was picked out of high school by the Braves in the 32nd round of the 2017 draft but opted to attend college instead. The Angels thought enough of Detmers’ mix of stuff and polish to make him the 10th overall pick in 2020 and sign him for a bonus of $4.67 million. Detmers rocketed from the Angels’ alternate training site in 2020 to Anaheim in 2021. He jumped straight to Double-A to start his pro career and dominated in 12 starts for the Trash Pandas before being promoted to Triple-A Salt Lake, where he made just two starts before being called up to the majors to…

1. JACK LEITER, RHP AGE: 22. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-1. WT: 205. DRAFTED: Vanderbilt, 2021 (1st round). SIGNED BY: Derrick Tucker. TRACK RECORD: Leiter was drafted by the Yankees out of the Delbarton School in New Jersey but chose to honor his commitment to Vanderbilt, where he spent the 2021 season as arguably the most dominant pitcher in college baseball. He made national headlines on March 20 when he threw a no-hitter with 16 strikeouts against South Carolina. He followed that performance with seven more hitless innings against Missouri in his next start. He finished with 179 strikeouts, tied at the top of the NCAA leaderboard with teammate Kumar Rocker. He and Rocker helped lead the Commodores to the College World Series finals. Come July, Leiter was in the mix…

1. DIEGO CARTAYA, C AGE: 20. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-3. WT: 219. SIGNED: Venezuela, 2018. SIGNED BY: Luis Marquez/Roman Barinas/Cliff Nuiter/Jean Castro. TRACK RECORD: Cartaya signed with the Dodgers for $2.5 million on the first day of the 2018-19 international signing period. He impressed in the Rookie-level Arizona League in his pro debut and was the youngest player the Dodgers invited to their alternate training site in 2020. A back muscle flareup delayed his full-season debut in 2021, but he reported to Low-A Rancho Cucamonga in late May and became an instant star. He hit 10 home runs in 31 games while showing poise and maturity behind the plate. He went on the injured list with a strained hamstring in July and re-injured his back in August while he was…

American League ● The White Sox have a hole at second base that 24-year-old Yolbert Sanchez might fill PAGE 39 ● Coleman Crow impressed the Angels in his pro debut, then elevated his stock in the AFL PAGE 40 ● The Twins’ Chris Vallimont pushed his strikeout and walk rates to the extremes in 2021 PAGE 41 PAGE 41 The Mariners expressed a vote of confidence in 21-year-old outfielder Alberto Rodriguez’s potential by adding him to the 40-man roster. BALTIMORE ORIOLES Righthander Logan Gillaspie didn’t produce numbers this year that made him a lock to be added the Orioles’ 40-man roster. But Baltimore certainly liked the 24-year-old’s arm and didn’t want him exposed in the Rule 5 draft. Gillaspie registered a 4.97 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 26 games between…

1. TYLER SODERSTROM, C/1B AGE: 20. B-T: L-R. HT: 6-2. WT: 200. DRAFTED: HS—Turlock, Calif., 2020 (1st round). SIGNED BY: Kevin Mello. TRACK RECORD: The Athletics closed the 2010s with multiple misfires at the top of the draft, but going over slot to draft Soderstrom No. 26 overall in 2020 looks like a reversal of fortune. Soderstrom grew up less than two hours from Oakland and played for the Athletics’ Area Code team. It didn’t take him long to impress Oakland once he turned pro, either. He was one of the most impressive hitters at the club’s alternate training site in 2020 despite being just 18 years old. He carried that momentum into 2021, crushing Low-A West pitchers. His 145 wRC+ with Stockton was tied for fifth-best in the league…

1. CORBIN CARROLL, OF AGE: 21. B-T: L-L. HT: 5-10. WT: 165. DRAFTED: HS—Seattle, 2019 (1st round). SIGNED BY: Dan Ramsay. TRACK RECORD: Carroll emerged early as one of the most talented players in the 2019 draft class, but concerns about his small stature caused him to fall to the 16th overall pick, where the D-backs were thrilled to scoop him up. He signed for $3.75 million to pass up a UCLA commitment and quickly went about justifying Arizona’s excitement. Carroll performed well in his pro debut while advancing out of Rookie ball after just 31 games and excelled at the alternate training site in 2020. He got off to a fast start at High-A Hillsboro in 2021, but he hurt himself on a home run swing in his seventh…

1. CJ ABRAMS, SS AGE: 21. B-T: L-R. HT: 6-1. WT: 179. DRAFTED: HS—Roswell, Ga., 2019 (1st round). SIGNED BY: Tyler Stubblefield. TRACK RECORD: Abrams long stood out as one of the best and most athletic players for his age in high school. He made a big impression when he took over center field for USA Baseball’s 18U National Team and made the position look easy despite never playing it before. He followed with a sensational senior spring, and the Padres were thrilled when he fell to them at No. 6 overall. They signed him for $5.2 million, and by the end of that first pro summer, Abrams had won the Rookie-level Arizona League’s MVP award after batting .401 and had earned a promotion to Low-A Fort Wayne. But that…

PAGE 43 Cubs outfielder Nelson Velazquez found a way to get to more power and decrease his strikeout rate, then he elevated his game with an MVP turn in the Arizona Fall League. National League ● An 18-year-old Joe Elbis impressed the D-backs with his pitchability and overall maturity PAGE 44 ● Jack Suwinski’s value is on the rise, portending good things for the future of the Pirates PAGE 46 ● The Nationals viewed Donovan Casey as central to their blockbuster trade with the Dodgers PAGE 47 ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS One day last summer, righthander Joe Elbis hopped in an Uber, bought a ticket and watched a game at Chase Field. He wanted an up-close look at how each team’s starting pitcher went about his day. “He paid for it himself.…