Atlanta Braves: July 2nd International Signing Primer

With the Draft now in the books, the Atlanta Braves are tipped to be one of the biggest spenders in this years heralded International Signing Class. Here we take a quick look at how this market works and who their rumored prospects are.

International What?

For the average sports fan, baseball has by far and away the most complicated process of identifying and acquiring young talent. Not only is there a 40 round draft that involves all kinds of strange signing mechanics that no other sport has even thought of, there is also a second even more complicated approach to signing players from outside of the US.

Only US, Canadian, and Puerto Rican based players are eligible for the draft, and so every year, after July 2nd, amateur players from elsewhere between the age of 16 and 23 can be signed by MLB teams. Unlike the draft, where teams have a pick based system, the international period is like a free for all, where each team can approach whoever they want, whenever they want. However, teams can only spend a certain amount of money before they have to go into a very complicated tax based penalty system.

Last year, the Atlanta Braves signed exciting teenagers Derian Cruz and Christian Pache for over $1.5 million each before making some under-the-radar trades that allowed them to slip under the tax bracket, ensuring that they would have no penalties for this upcoming year. The reason for this by all accounts is that 2016 is the year the Braves will be ‘going crazy’ on the international market. Some sources say that they could even top the record high $17 million that the Yankees spent in 2014.

Most international high-spending teams such as the Dodgers, Giants and Red Sox spent heavily the past 2 years and so are unable to offer prospects more than $300k to sign in 2016. Therefore, the plan since John Hart arrived seems to have revolved around capitalizing on the lack of competition to bring in as much talent as possible this year. Seven of the top 25 rated prospects in this year’s class are heavily linked to the Atlanta Braves at the moment, an incredibly high number when you consider previous years classes, so lets dive in and take a look at them.

Kevin Maitan: SS/3B Venezuela

Considered universally to be not only the jewel in his year’s class, but the highest rated prospect since Miguel Sano in 2009, Maitan is one of the most exciting young players in the game. Standing at 6-3 and 175 pounds, most scouts think he will likely have to move from SS to 3B as he gets older, but his hit tools and power are considered to be special.

He’s a switch hitter who most agree offers more pop from the right but can hit the long ball from either side of the plate with a smooth and effortless swing. Comparisons are kind of crazy, ranging from Miguel Cabrerra to Chipper Jones, and even though he only just turned 16, most scouts believe that he will automatically become a top 100 prospect in all of baseball on the day he signs, which is extremely rare.

The Atlanta Braves have been considered the most likely destination for Maitan for over a year and it’s been rumored since last summer that he has a ‘handshake deal’ with them for over $4m. While this would be by far the largest signing bonus for any player to come out of Venezuela, the consensus seems to be that he’s absolutely worth it and although he is clearly a long way away from the bigs. If he signs, it would give Atlanta the type of blue chip prospect few organizations have.

Abrahan Gutierrez: C Venezuela

Considered to possess an excellent defensive skill set with a live arm that consistently threatens base stealers, Gutierrez is ranked as the #2 ranked catcher in his class. Although he isn’t a particularly quick runner, he has displayed decent power, especially for a 16-year-old, and many believe he will develop into an everyday catcher with impressive hit tools.

Yunior Severino: SS/2B Dominican Republic

This SS tweener has decent defensive skills, but what scouts mainly love about Severino is his batting potential. He has a good power grade for his size and age (5-10 16) and teams love his quick bat speed which helps him have an aggressive approach at the plate while still having a great deal of hits. He has a decent arm and average speed but it’s his bat that really has scouts excited.

Yenci Pena: 3B Dominican Republic

He doesn’t turn 16 until the 13th of July, so we won’t see him sign until then, but Pena offers teams a really well-developed skill set for a player his age and a mature approach at the plate where he has shown a rare talent for adjusting to pitchers as the game goes on. This approach alongside a fluid stroke that scouts believe will generate more power as he matures project him to have a solid hit tool. His defense and footwork aren’t too shabby either.

Livan Soto: SS Venezela

The closest thing in the draft to Ozzie Albies, Soto’s skill set really does seem incredibly similar. While he doesn’t have a great deal of power, he makes a lot of hard contact and always seems to bat to a plan. He plays with a huge amount of hustle and has a live arm that transitions to short. Again, he only turned 16 last week, so he’s a long way away and is unlikely to move through the system as quickly as Ozzie, but all of the skills are there for him to make a real impact in the future.

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Juan Contreras: RHP Dominican Republic

The only pitcher on this list, Contreras has already been recorded throwing a 95 mph fastball and long-term, scouts believe his wicked slider could develop into his best pitch. His curve and change-up are works in progress, but he has displayed an ability to use his arm action to fool batters at times. If these develop, he projects as a starter, but if they don’t, his fastball and slider will be enough for him to transition into a bullpen guy.

Lazaro Armenteros: OF Cuba

The wild card of the bunch and the only Cuban player we’re going to look at (because things are all the more complicated when it comes to the MLB and Cuba), ‘Lazarito’ is one of the most intriguing players on the market with genuinely exciting power, fast hands, and an arm that has many scouts thinking he could handle center field even if right makes more sense.

He’s a wild card because, at 17, he’s been available to sign since January 11th for teams like the Dodgers and Giants who spent big in 2015 and won’t have the cash to burn once we get to July 2nd. Most expected him to sign a huge deal with one of those teams, but instead he has changed agent and not signed with anyone, making it much more likely that a team such as the Braves or the Padres convinced him to wait another six months. It’s very likely that despite not being as good of a prospect as Maitan, Lazarito will end up signing for more $ based off previous deals for Cuban teenagers. Then again, if that’s the Braves and they happen to end up with both, fans are unlikely to care who was paid more!

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Overall:

After a draft heavily focused on pitching, fans should be excited about the fact that 6 of the 7 prospects mentioned above are position players with genuinely exciting hit tools. It should be remembered that all of these players are 17 or under and by no means are they sure things but if the Atlanta Braves front office is able to pull this off and sign even 5 of these 7, the amount of hitting talent they will be bringing into an already loaded farm system will be astounding.

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