Happy Friday A’s fans! Another week almost wrapped up and in the books. We made it.
Yesterday was the opening for teams to begin coming to terms with international free agents, and we saw a massive flurry of signings from all over the league. There’s bound to be some stars in this year’s bunch, but the players that put pen to paper today are all incredibly young and far away from the major leagues. Still, adding exciting prospects is always fun, even if we have to wait a while to see any results.
Advertisement
The A’s were no different than any other team today. Looking to bolster an already improved farm system with some international flavor, the Athletics were one of the big winners from today’s opening. The team was able to nab this year’s classes’ #5 overall prospect, signing Dominican shortstop Johenssy Colome to a $4 million contract. It’s a huge chunk of the Athletics’ allotted $7.3 million budget for this class but it’s worth it to add a player like Colome.
The right-handed hitter, the son of former big leaguer Jesus Colome and cousin of another in Alex Colome, has big power for a 17-year-old. Here’s what Pipelin said about him recently:
“It’s not often that teenage prospects launch home runs. But Colome has a tendency to get to that jumpy pop with frequency, consistently leveraging his swing well – so well in fact, that one evaluator mentioned the most recent occasion on which he saw an international prospect continually get to their launch point in such a manner was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Colome is a right-handed hitter with explosive hands and a solid contact rate, although he has been known to be a tad aggressive in the box as a means of getting to said power.“
“It’s not often that teenage prospects launch home runs. But Colome has a tendency to get to that jumpy pop with frequency, consistently leveraging his swing well – so well in fact, that one evaluator mentioned the most recent occasion on which he saw an international prospect continually get to their launch point in such a manner was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Colome is a right-handed hitter with explosive hands and a solid contact rate, although he has been known to be a tad aggressive in the box as a means of getting to said power.“
That sounds tantalizing as a baseball fan. It’s going to be years before we see the outcome with Colome but he immediately becomes one of the more fun names to watch over the next few years. Scouts suggest that as he gets older and stronger he’ll need to move off of shortstop but the plan is to work him there and see if he can stick. Coming from a baseball family is always a huge bonus and the fact that two of his family members have big league resumes is the cherry on top with him. Colome is the highest-ranked addition for the A’s since 2023, when they came to terms with right-handed pitcher Luis Morales, also ranked #5 at the time. That’s worked out pretty well so far. This is a terrific addition to the organization and one we’ll be waiting for.
That wasn’t the only notable name the A’s signed today. They also came to terms with another shortstop by the name of Ricky Duran, also from the Dominican Republic. Ranked as the #33 prospect in this class, Duran doesn’t have the sheer power than Colome does but the fellow 17-year-old is a more well-rounded prospect. He’s a line-drive batter who looks like he’ll be able to handle shortstop, or otherwise anywhere else on the dirt with ease. If you want to get excited about Duran, he’s drawn multiple comparisons to big leaguer Willy Adames. The A’s would be plenty happy with that outcome.
Advertisement
Pipeline’s take on Duran:
Presently, Duran’s right-handed swing is built to spray balls from gap-to-gap. But he has a loose body with a whippy swing and room to pack some good weight onto his frame in order to tap into extra-base pop. There’s a lot of bat speed in his 6-foot frame and he does have a slight upswing, both positive trends that teams can work with as a pro career gets underway.
The A’s also signed the #45 prospect in Venezuelan catcher Jose Perdomo. The younger brother of last year’s #4 prospect (also named Jose), Perdomo is much more of a work in the batter’s box but evaluators see plenty of power in his bat. His calling card though is his defense behind the plate, which is already reportedly outstanding for a player his age. Now that he’s going to get some serious coaching in the A’s system, he should only continue to get better with the glove.
Overall the team signed seven players today. Three shortstops, a third baseman, a catcher, outfielder, but just one pitcher, a lefty. An interesting class to be sure, but could have probably aimed for more pitching. We’ll see in a few years how well this crop turns out.
This shouldn’t make the A’s farm system jump anyone in national rankings but it does add more talent and intriguing lotto tickets to the farm system. All of these players are likely to make their pro debuts in the Dominican Summer League, which typically begins in early June, and then from there the clock is ticking to race to the big leagues.
Advertisement
Enjoy your weekend everyone!
A’s Coverage:
MLB News and Interest:
Best of X:
Here’s how much every player signed for yesterday:
Sac native signing:
Has his question been answered?
Well let’s hope not: