Baseball America\u2019s top-100 list<\/a>, led by Dominican outfielder Rubel Arias. Arias is a lefty-swinging outfielder with a good feel for hitting, according to Baseball America. The Dodgers\u2019 other top-100 prospect signings are Dominican shortstops Ezequiel Melbourne, Ariel Reynoso and Jose Victorino.<\/p>\nThe Dodgers have also signed left-hander Tom Apfelbaum out of Germany. The 6-foot-4 southpaw pitched for the German U18 team in the WBSC U18 Baseball World Cup, where his fastball hit 93.2 mph. \u2014 Melissa Lockard<\/p>\n
New York Mets<\/p>\n
Wandy Asigen highlights the Mets\u2019 international class. The 16-year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic picked the Mets after working out in showcases for several teams in December. Previously, he backed out of his agreement with the Yankees. To sign Asigen, the Mets traded left-handed pitching prospect Franklin G\u00f3mez to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday for international bonus pool money.<\/p>\n
Evaluators from various organizations said Asigen is among the top few prospects in the class. The same evaluators said ranking him anywhere within the top four makes sense.<\/p>\n
Asigen\u2019s electric bat speed, advanced approach and power for his age convince scouts he holds plus hit tools. One evaluator described Asigen, a left-handed batter, as a possible five-tool shortstop in the future. Like others, though, he may end up playing elsewhere in the infield. His offensive game is what really stands out because of his ability to hit balls hard at elite rates (110 mph). But scouts also give him favorable grades for defense and speed. \u2014 Will Sammon<\/p>\n
New York Yankees<\/p>\n
The Yankees haven\u2019t been connected to any of this year\u2019s top prospects expected to get large signing bonuses. Wandy Asigen, who signed with the Mets, was one of two players ranked in Baseball America\u2019s top-100 international prospect list who had been expected to sign with the Yankees before opting out of their deals. (Yeison Horton, a Dominican shortstop who signed with the Angels, is the other.)<\/p>\n
According to Baseball America, the club has reached agreements with catcher Kenneth Melendez (Venezuela), catcher Cesar Lopez (Venezuela), shortstop Germayhoni Beltre (Dominican Republic), shortstop Abrahan Pichardo (Dominican Republic), catcher Poly Ojeda (Venezuela) and right-handed pitcher Sebastian Rivas (Venezuela). None of them were ranked in BA\u2019s top-100 list. \u2014 Melissa Lockard<\/p>\n
Philadelphia Phillies<\/p>\n
The Phillies made a splash on signing day, signing Venezuelan center fielder Francisco Renteria for $4 million, matching the franchise record international amateur signing bonus set in July 2015.<\/p>\n
Renteria is the No. 2-ranked international prospect on Baseball America\u2019s top-100 list. Phillies\u2019 international staff lauded Renteria\u2019s bat-to-ball skills, athleticism, power and maturity. Renteria, who turned 17 less than a week ago, figures to stick in center field \u2014 though time, obviously, will tell. Some Phillies staffers compared him to Mariners center fielder Julio Rodr\u00edguez.<\/p>\n
Another signing the Phillies are excited about is Juan Parra, a shortstop out of Bobby Abreu\u2019s academy in Venezuela. He\u2019s an athletic switch-hitter and a strong runner with good bat-to-ball skills, team sources said. Some feel he could eventually end up in center field.<\/p>\n
The Phillies will also make history with this class, signing their first Japanese amateur. Alexandre Moreti is an 18-year-old righty with a fastball sitting between 88-89 mph, touching the low 90s. One team official said they\u2019re most excited about Moreti\u2019s desire to challenge himself by coming to the U.S. to prove to the baseball world that he\u2019s worth the time and investment. \u2014 Charlotte Varnes<\/p>\n
San Diego Padres<\/p>\n
The Padres announced the signing of three players on Thursday: shortstop Joniel Hernandez from Cuba, infielder Timothy Mogen from Cura\u00e7ao and left-handed pitcher Diego Serna from Mexico. Both Hernandez and Serna received seven-figure signing bonuses, according to Baseball America.<\/p>\n
Hernandez is a toolsy prospect with a strong throwing arm who comes to the Padres with experience against international competition, having pitched for Mexico\u2019s national team in the 2024 U15 World Cup. He\u2019s reportedly hit 92 mph with his fastball. Mojen is considered one of the top prospects from Cura\u00e7ao in this year\u2019s class. He\u2019s 6-4 and has above-average speed and arm strength. \u2014 Melissa Lockard<\/p>\n
San Francisco Giants<\/p>\n
Last year at this time, the Giants signed one of the top prospects in the class, shortstop Josuar Gonzalez, and he has already emerged as one of the Giants\u2019 top prospects. The organization hopes for a similar development with Luis Hern\u00e1ndez, who is signing for what is believed to be the largest bonus in the class ($5 million).<\/p>\n
Hernandez, 17, is a right-handed hitter whose well-rounded skills have allowed him to excel against older competition. Considered the top player out of the respected Carlos Guillen Academy, Hernandez faced much older competition \u2014 including some pitchers who were twice his age \u2014 in the Venezuelan Summer League and hit .346 with eight walks and 11 strikeouts in 114 plate appearances. He is just 5-foot-10 but already demonstrates pull power along with the ability to barrel off-speed pitches and fastballs alike.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re excited about what this group of players brings to our organization,\u201d Giants senior director of international scouting Joe Salermo said in a team-released statement. \u201cLuis stood out to us for his ability, character and work ethic. We\u2019re proud to welcome him and this entire class as they begin their professional journeys with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Giants also signed 17-year-old Mexican right-hander Alexis Gallegos, who made his pro debut with Yucatan in the Mexican Professional League last year, and Venezuelan outfielder Angelo Ugueto. With Hernandez\u2019s bonus taking up most of the Giants\u2019 pool, their international class is expected to be smaller than usual this year. \u2014 Andrew Baggarly<\/p>\n
St. Louis Cardinals<\/p>\n
Powerful right-handed hitting outfielder Emanuel Luna celebrated his 17th birthday today by signing with the Cardinals for a $2.3 million bonus, according to MLB.com. Luna, one of the top power hitters in the class, stands 6-2 and has room to grow into his frame and add even more power down the road.<\/p>\n
The Cardinals also signed Dominican shortstop Carlos Carrion to a $1.1 million bonus. Carrion is a switch-hitter with above-average athleticism. \u2014 Melissa Lockard<\/p>\n
Washington Nationals<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the Nationals announced 15 international signings, including four who received seven-figure bonuses, according to Baseball America.<\/p>\n
Dominican outfielder Samil Serrano took home the biggest bonus at $1.97 million, following closely by fellow Dominican outfielder Isaias Suarez\u2019s $1.9 million bonus. Serrano, a left-handed hitting and throwing outfielder, ranked 16 on Baseball America\u2019s Top 100. Serrano doesn\u2019t have a lot of present power but his frame has room to grow and he has a smooth swing, according to Baseball America. Suarez, ranked 18th, gets high marks for his athleticism and defensive prowess in center field. Outfielders Juan Duran and Angel Ramirez, also from the Dominican Republic, reportedly received $1 million bonuses. \u2014 Melissa Lockard<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Major League Baseball\u2019s new international amateur signing period opened on Thursday. Last year\u2019s class was highlighted by Japanese…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":522148,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2408],"tags":[5,162,55,57,4,61,62,63,25,18,378,66,4343,4340,4344,4341,4342,67,71],"class_list":{"0":"post-522147","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco-giants","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-giants","10":"tag-kansas-city-royals","11":"tag-los-angeles-dodgers","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-new-york-mets","14":"tag-new-york-yankees","15":"tag-oakland-athletics","16":"tag-philadelphia-phillies","17":"tag-san-diego-padres","18":"tag-san-francisco","19":"tag-san-francisco-giants","20":"tag-sanfrancisco","21":"tag-sanfranciscogiants","22":"tag-sf","23":"tag-sf-giants","24":"tag-sfgiants","25":"tag-st-louis-cardinals","26":"tag-washington-nationals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522147\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}