Atlanta Braves Still Fishing in International Waters
MLBPipeline.com is reporting the following – retweeted by ESPN international baseball insider Jesse Sanchez:
.@Braves considered favorite to sign Nos. 10 & 21 on the Top 30 International Prospects list: http://t.co/PM4SKHkOZg pic.twitter.com/OfGgF4LgSt
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 7, 2015
Right away, I feel compelled to issue a couple of disclaimers…
- These kids aren’t signed yet – the next international signing period opens in July.. though I won’t discount the fact that Derian Cruz (pictured on right) is wearing a “Braves Baseball” shirt.
- These kids are still just 16 years old, and thus are probably 5-7 years away from getting a whiff at the majors (think Jose Peraza, who is ahead of schedule at the age of 21).
Okay, now that I’ve crushed your expectations, let’s nonetheless talk about the subject.
How Do You Even Evaluate Players at this age?
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One thing about these kids from the Dominican Republic (in particular): they play baseball all the time. It’s their outlet, it’s their culture. Virtually all of the Major League Baseball clubs have established camps to attract these kids: they can get training, equipment, regular practice, clothing, school, meals… everything that helps out in a country that’s still largely poverty-stricken.
That didn’t used to be the case: the term “sweat shop” had been applied to some teams’ facilities…and quite recently so. But the Cubs, for instance, spent $6-8 million to develop a completely renovated training camp. Several other teams have followed suit as competition for these players has fueled the incentives to upgrade the facilities.
The Braves’ academy, located in San Pedro de Marcorís, still looks fairly new (see photo #12), though has been running since 2007. Compared to other teams, it looks a bit more modest, and that’s because of the monies poured in within the past 5 years. Atlanta may have upgraded theirs somewhat, but time will tell if this keeps them competitive with other clubs.
So scouts do get a lot of eyes-on time, and that’s why the MLB Pipeline can even come up with a Top-30 list or Top-anything involving international teenagers. It’s become that sophisticated an operation in the Dominican and in other countries around the Caribbean.
10 – Cristian Pache
Pache is listed as an toolsy outfielder who projects to continue to improve as he grows. He’s already 6’1″/180 (Bats/Throws R) and is described on the MLBPipeline site as being able to run and hit very well already. The scouting grades are all at 50+ (unclear whether that’s current or projected), but taken at face value, that’s good enough for a major league outfielder.
For a quick MLB video of Pache, click here.
21 – Derian Cruz
I just hope this kid makes it based on his name alone – it just sounds like the name of a ball player. That aside, here’s the key phrase from the scouting report on Cruz:
Some scouts consider the 6-foot, 170-pound infielder the best athlete and the best runner in the entire class. Other evaluators feel he is near the top of that list.
All righty… Cruz is listed as a SS, but as with all 16 year olds, don’t take that as the Gospel Truth at this stage of their lives. In fact, his arm is graded as a ’40’, which would be below major league standards. The report goes on to suggest center field or second base as possible future landing spots for him.
I will say that his grades are Jose Peraza-like: 70 speed, 30 power, though with this “athlete” label, that sounds more promising, and this report mentions Jose Reyes as a point for comparison. He’s a switch-hitter, but there’s a chance he could end up righty-only.
There’s a video of Cruz as well for your review.
So there’s an early look for possible signings come July. What’s nice this year is that the Yankees and others will be banned from signing virtually anybody (especially after a 2014 that saw New York snap up close to half of the Top-30 in a brazen flaunting of the signing pool rules). So between that and the Braves’ renewed emphasis on pursuing International talent, there’s reason to pay attention – even if the fruits of this labor won’t be seen for several more years.