Draft/ International Signing Day?

[Quake Griffin]

Lourdes.

we need you.
Come on the market before it's too late.

[Neddy]

MLB.com updated its rankings of the Dodgers' Top 30 Prospects to include both Yusniel Diaz and Omar Estevez. Diaz is ranked 12th immediately behind Yadier Alvarez while Estevez is 21st overall in the development system. I disagree with the rankings of both Alvarez and Diaz. They should both be among the top 10 prospects for the organization with Micah Johnson and Chris Anderson bumped to outside of that group instead. Conversely, I think Estevez is much too high because I don't even think he belongs in the top 30 with names like Imani Abdullah, Jared Walker, Josh Ravin, Scott Barlow, Logan Crouse, Ronny Brito, and Ronald Torreyes not even on the list.

Also, just like when they trimmed Yadier Alvarez's grades upon moving him from the International Prospects list into the Dodgers' prospect rankings, they did the same to Yusniel Diaz to a more extended degree. Diaz's Hit rating dropped from 60 to 55; his Power from 55 to 40; Run from 70 to 60; Arm from 60 to 55; and Field also from 60 to 55. His Overall grade stands at 50.

well we gotta do something to hype the trade commodities versus guys we actually wanna develop and keep afterall. hell I wish Montas was ranked #1 overall ahead of Seager. sell em high I say.

[Ranma]

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Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. a.k.a. Tito apparently had a growth spurt. He was previously listed at 6-2 but the article says he's 6-4 now. Of course, we don't know how accurate the measurements are, but Kershaw recently remarked at how tall Lourdes is and in the picture below, he's the tallest of the Gurriel men despite being the youngest.

The well-written and in-depth article referenced below mentions that an agreement could possibly happen soon but there's a lot of things to sort through and untangle as negotiations are going on with congressional approval also necessary. If an agreement were to happen, it is anticipated that the Cuban government would restrict the number of Cuban players eligible to be transferred over to the United States in order to play Major League Baseball. It would likely be similar to the posting system used for Japan. This would not only quell the rapid depletion of talent from Cuban baseball, but also allow for the Cuban government to exert more control over the process.

Even with the restrictive process, it is anticipated that at least one Gurriel, if not both, will be among the first wave of players to play in MLB as official representatives of Cuba.

Grant Robertson, Globe and Mail (12/18/15)

...

In Cuba, the Gurriels are the first family of baseball.

The father, Lourdes Gurriel Sr., is a former superstar for Cuba who carved his place in the country’s hearts by hitting a crucial home run against the U.S. in 1988. Now he has three sons on the national team, and two of them are among the best players in the world outside MLB. When the hot-corner faithful say “Gurriel,” they are referring to either 31-year-old Yulieski, a slugging third-baseman and established star, or Lourdes Jr., just 22, a rangy shortstop with a dangerous bat and a huge upside.
...

Gurriel, who Cubans refer to as Tito, is 6-foot-4 and 183 pounds and debuted in Cuba’s highest league at age 16. Baseball America, an authority on the Cuban National Series, calls Tito “one of the league’s premier talents… a smart hitter with a chance to get on base at a high clip and drive the ball for power.”

Loosely translated, he is what major league scouts dream about when they imagine the door being opened for Cubans to play in America.
...

But even with his youth and hitting prowess, there is a good chance Tito won’t be the first. In fact, he might not even be the first Gurriel to go. That honour likely belongs to his brother Yulieski, whom many on the island consider to be Cuba’s best player.

In 22 games for the Industriales this season, Yulieski is batting .550, a figure that seems more like a typo than an actual statistic. His odds of getting on base are better than flipping a coin.
...

A key sticking point, though, is a U.S. requirement that forces players to sever ties with the island, which the Cubans resent. They must either defect in the U.S. or venture to a third country and obtain residency. Most players choose the latter, since that route allows them to enter MLB as international free agents, signing highly lucrative contracts, instead of having to go through the draft.
...

“We want our players to have the same opportunities as all players in the world… with the same rights as any other player,” Velez says. “To play in MLB, you have to become a citizen of a third country. You can’t play as a Cuban. That’s a form of discrimination only for Cubans.”

If the U.S. is willing to work with the federation on such matters, Velez suggests a deal with MLB can get done quickly.

“We’re not the ones with restrictions,” he says. “Movement is possible when our dignity is respected.”
...

However, money is the complicating factor. If any of it flows back to Cuba, the MLB has a problem. If Cuba wants to be paid for its players – either by selling the rights to negotiate with an athlete, as Japanese teams do, or by collecting taxes on their salaries – it would put MLB in violation of the U.S. embargo.

The two sides either need the embargo to be lifted or changed by Congress, something that Obama is pushing for, or to find a workaround that doesn’t involve financial compensation going to Cuba.

“I think it will happen,” MLB’s Halem says. “But it’s going to take a while to work this out.”

Knocking on the Door

[Ranma]

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[Ranma]

Something to keep in mind with regards to boosting our collection of prospects even further is that we can blow out our draft budget in either the 2017 or 2018 draft depending on the strength of a particular draft class since we'll lose a first-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft in anticipation of the signing(s) the Dodgers will make during the vaunted free agency of 2018-19.

Penalties for Exceeding Allotted Draft Pool

• Up to 5% = 75% Tax on Overage
• Up to 10% = 75% Tax on Overage + Loss of First-Round Pick
• Up to 15% = 100% Tax on Overage + Loss of Both First- and Second-Round Picks
• Over 15% = 100% Tax on Overage + Loss of 2 First-Round Picks in Consecutive Years

The strategy is quite similar to what the front office is currently doing during the current international signing period, except the Dodgers would be limited to the availability of talent by virtue of having to wait their turns during the draft process. We obviously wouldn't be able to simply outbid other teams. Basically, we would be sacrificing up to 2 years worth of first-round picks for a chance to make a killing during a particular draft year.

Assuming we did make a free-agent signing or two (or three) during the winter of 2018, the Dodgers would forfeit at least our first-round pick for 2019. If that were the case, it would make sense to take advantage of the loss of that pick by doubling down and either going all out for the 2017 draft class by spending over 15% more than the allotted draft pool for that year or either doing the same for the 2018 draft class or limiting the overage for that year's allotted funds for up to 10% or 15%.

Scenario 1

• Draft BPA with each and every draft pick in the 2017 draft, then sign as many selections as possible without regard to draft pool by exceeding 15% threshold over allotted funds.
• Sign 3 big-name free agents (e.g. Machado, Fernandez, Harper) during 2018-19 free agency period.

In this scenario, the Dodgers would lose a first-round pick in each of 2018 and 2019. Limiting the overage of the draft pool in the 2017 draft to just 5% doesn't really do us any good in this scenario even though we'd only lose 1 first-round pick in 2018 instead of 2 total in back-to-back years. That's because we'd lose the 2019 first-round pick anyways from our free-agent signings from the previous winter of 2018.

By already forfeiting our 2019 first-round pick from the proposed 2017-draft-blowout strategy, the Dodgers wouldn't have one to give up as compensation for signing big-name players from the 2018-19 free agency period. Theoretically, it would cost us only a second-rounder to sign Bryce Harper, a third-rounder to sign Jose Fernandez, and a fourth-rounder to sign Manny Machado. Of course, this doesn't factor in the respective monetary value of the contracts for each of those players and any one of those players is worth giving up a first-rounder, anyway. However, this way would net us the value of 3 first-round picks compensation for only a second-, third-, and fourth-round pick.

On top of that, we could conceivably draft and sign 3 or 4 first-round quality players from the 2017 draft class because we wouldn't be limited to the pool of funds allotted to us by MLB. The reason why so many high-end quality draft-eligible players would be available is because there are always kids with hard commitments to schools that are usually passed up by teams because they don't want to exceed their budget to sign them. By not limiting ourselves to the allotted amount designated to us by MLB and accepting the consequences for doing so while mitigating the punitive damage by signing multiple 2018-19 free agents, it would be much easier to convince these kids to forgo their commitments to join the Dodgers.

The net result would be Bryce Harper, Jose Fernandez, Manny Machado, 4 projected first-round picks from the 2017 draft class, and the remaining drafted players from the 2017 and 2018 draft classes in exchange for spending big on free agents as well as the loss of 2 first-round picks, 1 second-round pick, 1 third-round pick, and 1 fourth-round pick.

Furthermore, I wonder how the Dodgers would be penalized for going over the allotted pool for the 2018 draft class since we would already lose first-rounders in both 2018 and 2019. If we were to continue exceeding the 10% or 15% thresholds for the 2018 draft, would we just move down the corresponding draft slot in forfeiting either a second- or third-round pick since the first-rounder for that year was already forfeited from the 2017 draft blowout? Or would MLB just tack on 2020 as another year to forfeit a first-round pick? In any case, this would be of minor significance.

Scenario 2

• Draft and sign players in the 2018 draft by going up to (and not over) either the 10% or 15% threshold over allotted funds.
• Sign 3 big-name free agents (e.g. Machado, Fernandez, Harper) during 2018-19 free agency period.

This would be a more subdued version of Scenario 1 where we would still get the 3 big-name free agents, but likely maybe only 2 first-round level talents from the 2018 draft class along with the rest of that year's draftees in exchange for the money spent on free agents and only the loss of 1 first-round pick, 1 second-round pick, 1 third-round pick, and 1 fourth-round pick. Still a great trade-off but not as potentially rewarding as Scenario 1 since it is conceivable to get even more than 4 first-round level prospects without having to adhere to spending limits on a single draft class. Conversely, it is also quite possible to come away with only 1 first-round level talent because of the imposed spending limits even if we were to only exceed our allotted draft pool by up to the outer threshold of 15%.

We could also apply the strategy of Scenario 1 to the 2018 draft if that draft class is anticipated to be stronger than 2017's and still reap the same benefits. The only difference is that we'd be sacrificing a first-round pick in 2020 instead of 2018; again, our 2019 first-round pick is gone regardless with our anticipated participation in free agency for 2018-19. Another thing to keep in mind is that other teams may also possibly be thinking of employing this strategy as well, which would limit the effectiveness of this approach. The more participants in such a strategy in any given year, the less opportunities for each to take advantage of the situation. Fortunately, there aren't that many other big-market ballclubs with the deep pockets and willingness to take full advantage of this approach.

[Ranma]

Here's an update on Lazaro Armenteros, whom I have been skeptical of mostly because of the lack of previous information on him. The hype machine is already underway portraying him as having huge potential but also big ambitions both on and off the field. He is represented by the cousin of former Dodger and current SportsnetLA personality, Jerry Hairston, Jr.

He's scheduled to host a showcase on January 8th and all teams eligible to sign him look to be attending. If he checks out, the Dodgers should have the inside track to get him as usual, so we'll see what our scouts and front office think of him. He's already in contact with Puig. Hopefully, he doesn't take too much after him.

MLB still has to determine whether he will be eligible to sign during the current international signing period as he missed the deadline to file. However, given his multiple attempts to establish residency outside of Cuba, I think he'll be granted the exception waiver to be eligible for the Dodgers to sign him should we be interested in him.

Bog Nightengale, USA Today (12/22/15)

He texts and talks all of the time to fellow Cuban Yasiel Puig, the Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder, but couldn't see him in person during Puig's three-day visit with his fellow major league stars.
...

Armenteros, 16, widely known in baseball's international ranks simply as Lazarito, just may be the finest young amateur player to sign a professional baseball contract in 2016.

One veteran American League international scout called him young and raw, but a rare talent with signs of Willie Mays and Bo Jackson, due to his combination of speed and power.

The scout, unauthorized to speak publicly on Armenteros because the player has not yet been cleared to sign by Major League Baseball, said he will be a frontline star.

Armenteros, who even has his own incorporated Lazarito logo, with plans for his own clothing line and bat company, already has a Japanese team willing to pay him about $15 million to come play in the Nippon League.

This kid, possessing a rare combination of dazzling speed, raw power and outfield arm strength, with a future as a corner outfielder, can be that good. Two more scouting directors, speaking to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because of Armenteros' uncertain status, confirmed Armenteros has superstar potential.
...

Every other team plans to watch the Cuban version of Bryce Harper when he was a 16-year-old phenom out of Las Vegas, with his power, speed and exuberance. Several GMs and high-ranking executives already have stopped in just to talk with him. Armenteros asks questions, too, asking how he can best improve, how he can help take teams to the next level, and what it takes to be a champion.

Let's see, he wants to be the next Albert Pujols, win championships like Derek Jeter and leave a legacy like Roberto Clemente.

"I'm ready to do whatever it takes,'' says Armenteros, who believes he can reach the big leagues by 2018. "It's like Puig tells me, "Please don't take my job. But if you keep working hard, stay focused, and play your game, nothing can stop you.'

"I want to make it to the Hall of Fame, have my numbers retired, and when I'm out of the game, for people to recognize the person I am.

"Even when I die, I don't want my name to ever die.''

Meet Lazaro Armenteros, the Next Cuban Baseball Star

[Ranma]

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While Maeda's translated statistics from Davenport Translations aren't impressive, Seung-Hwan Oh's line of 2.72 ERA and 58 strikeouts to 16 walks looks fairly decent, but who knows how accurate those numbers are.

Bill Baer, NBCsports.com (12/25/15)

Maeda, 27, has spent all eight seasons with Hiroshima in the Japan Central League. He has a career 2.39 ERA with 1,233 strikeouts and 319 walks in 1,509 2/3 innings. Though the numbers are impressive, the competition in Japan isn’t nearly as good as it is in the majors. Per the Davenport Translations, Maeda’s 2.09 ERA and 175/41 K/BB ratio over 206 1/3 innings last season comes out to 4.09 and 110/51 in the majors.

Report: Kenta Maeda was at Dodger Stadium on Thursday

[Neddy]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/billplunkettocr/status/680553676298047488[/tweet]

While Maeda's translated statistics from Davenport Translations aren't impressive, Seung-Hwan Oh's line of 2.72 ERA and 58 strikeouts to 16 walks looks fairly decent, but who knows how accurate those numbers are.

Bill Baer, NBCsports.com (12/25/15)

Maeda, 27, has spent all eight seasons with Hiroshima in the Japan Central League. He has a career 2.39 ERA with 1,233 strikeouts and 319 walks in 1,509 2/3 innings. Though the numbers are impressive, the competition in Japan isn’t nearly as good as it is in the majors. Per the Davenport Translations, Maeda’s 2.09 ERA and 175/41 K/BB ratio over 206 1/3 innings last season comes out to 4.09 and 110/51 in the majors.

Report: Kenta Maeda was at Dodger Stadium on Thursday

yeah I read that report too yesterday and its conversions but it is highly doubtful. of all the pitchers who moved from NPB to MLB, every starter essentially increased their K/9 ratio. the website projected Maeda's to dip down significantly from 7.0+ range in Japan to barely above 5.0+ range. noway. Japanese baseball teaches contact first and contact last, and strike out is frawned upon more so than here. they are basically playing 1960's national league ball game. pitching and small ball. also, Ryu Hyun Jin was the best in KBO when he came over. Ryu's last couple of season's ERA hovered around 3.00 and WHIP at around 1.1 to 1.2 and basically translated those numbers directly to MLB. Maeda is a two time reigning Sawamura award winner and have better numbers than Ryu did, in a clearly better league than KBO. MLB scouts have tendencies to score higher for Japanese pitchers over Koreans but lately considers Korean bats better than Jaoanese. the truth is, the best stars in Korea signs with Japanese teams when free agency hits for better money but success can be sporatic. I consider NPB close to AAA to AAAA players' league and KBO as AA league. by the way the first pitcher's record I had to check out on that report was Oh too, and can't say I wasn't pleased although I still think the report is worthless.. haha. that report also projected Shohei Otani to be worse than Maeda. no way. Otani right now, if comes over, he will be right there with Darvish and better than Tanaka. during the premere 12 torny, he wa shutting down team after team, and was dominating the internatinoal competition.

frankly, it would be kinda cool t see the each nation's top aces piching for the dodgers. Clayton for USA, Ryu for South Korea and Maeda of Japan. we can make an honest claim that we have the best from around the world.

[Ranma]

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[Ranma]

My goodness. If this were to happen, even I have to wonder if the Dodgers have enough money left to sign all the Cuban players they would want. Can you imagine adding Lourdes Gourriel, Jr., Vladimir Gutierrez, and Lazaro "Lazarito" Armenteros to go with Yadier Alvarez, Yusniel Diaz, and Starling Heredia? That's without mentioning Ronny Brito, Onil Cruz, and Emmanuel Marcano, who are all intriguing signings in their own right albeit not as hyped.

Heck, while we'd be at it, we'd might as well go after Yulieski Gourriel. We could always pull a Hector Olivera in his case and trade him to the Yankees later on. However, with the tax penalty on top of the high bonus money, it may not be worth it to go after Yulieski without an intent to keep him for ourselves and I'm personally not a big fan of his despite his likely ranking as Cuba's top player.

In any case, with a haul like that, we'd almost assure ourselves of at least one stud major leaguer unless our scouting staff is clueless, which is highly doubtful. I'm still not sold on Lazarito yet because of the lack of info on him but he already sounds more appealing than Eddy Julio Martinez.

Daniel Trotta, Yahoo! Sports (12/24/15)

Major League Baseball is asking the U.S. government for special permission to sign players in Cuba, handing the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama the opportunity to try some baseball diplomacy while dealing a setback to human traffickers.

The U.S. trade embargo generally bars MLB from any agreement directing money to the Cuban government, but the White House says baseball is one area where it can advance U.S. goals and the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has authority to allow a deal.
...

When Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers left Cuba in 2012, he soon found himself entangled with Mexico's notorious Zetas crime organization, which threatened to chop off his arm if it failed to receive a promised $250,000 fee.

While Puig signed a $42 million contract, others are abandoned in foreign countries, never to hit paydirt.

SOLUTION SOUGHT

To normalize the transfer of players, Major League Baseball has asked the Treasury's OFAC for a specific license. The office has wide latitude to grant such licenses and can issue regulations to approve activity otherwise proscribed by the embargo.

OFAC Acting Director John E. Smith said he could not comment on the baseball case, but in general his office "acts in consultation with the State Department and other relevant U.S. government agencies in determining whether (authorizing transactions) would be consistent with current policy."
...

Legally, experts say, there is no impediment to granting MLB's request. Politically, it may be tricky to explain a deal that provides revenue for the Cuban government while favoring MLB, a $10 billion industry. The administration's stated preference is to support Cuba's private sector.

As MLB Seeks Legal Entry to Cuba, Obama Considers Playing Ball

[Ranma]

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[Ranma]

Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times (12/20/15)

In the last 26 months, three Cuban defectors have signed baseball contracts worth a combined $202 million. Yet, perhaps the best young player in a generation still is on the island.

Lourdes Gourriel Jr., a tall, rangy infielder, has been on the radar of some big league teams since 2010, when he played in the junior world championships as a 16-year-old. In the last season and a half, he has begun to blossom, hitting .314 with 16 home runs and 72 runs batted in over 97 games for Havana's Industriales.

So at 22, he is following the negotiations between Major League Baseball and the Cuban federation with interest since it could make him the first Cuban in nearly 60 years to be able sign a big league contract while still on the island.

Cuba's Lourdes Gourriel Jr. Hopes to Play in the Major Leagues — Without Defecting

[Ranma]

It looks like I was wrong about how draft picks are lost through signing free agents who've rejected their qualifying offer. Previously, I was under the impression that a team would only lose their normal draft picks (top-10-overall protected) that did not include compensatory picks awarded to them for draft pick compensation.

This assumption led me to push for signing both Jason Heyward and Jordan Zimmermann since I thought we'd only lose our 1st first-rounder (currently 22nd overall) and our second-round pick(currently 64th overall) and not 2 of our anticipated 4 first-rounders among the top 40 overall picks in the 2016 MLB Amateur Draft.

However, I've realized that my assumption apparently was made in error since Dave Stewart has gone on record to say that he is unwilling to lose the Diamondbacks' first 2 draft picks in order to sign Howie Kendrick after already losing 1 from signing Zack Greinke. Arizona already gave up the 13th overall selection due to the Greinke signing and was alluding to its 37th overall pick (compensatory A) instead of 51st overall (second round) with regard to a proposed Kendrick signing.

Similarly, the Cubs will either have its 1st draft selection made in the 2016 draft either in the second or third round depending on where Dexter Fowler signs. The Cubs offered Fowler the qualifying offer only for him to reject it, so Chicago would normally be entitled to draft pick compensation if he signs elsewhere. However, since they also signed Jason Heyward and John Lackey, who both rejected qualifying offers from St. Louis, the Cubs not only lost its first-round pick (formerly 28th overall), but will also forfeit either the rights to the compensatory pick gained from Fowler signing with another team or its second-round draft pick should Fowler re-sign back with Chicago. In short, the Cubs will either start off its 2016 draft in the second round (currently 67th overall) if Dexter Fowler signs with another team or third round (currently 104th overall) if they re-sign him.

Invasion of Mikes

Why is Dave Stewart saying he won't forfeit draft picks for free agents when he already forfeited his top pick for Greinke? I think Howie Kendrick is worth a second round pick.

Steve Adams

Jeff Todd and I chatted about this last night after Stewart went public with that comment. It's one of the most bizarre things I've seen in awhile, and I frankly just don't believe him at all. As you said, they already surrendered a nice pick for Greinke. But it's more than that. Arizona traded the #1 overall pick from 2015 already (Swanson), traded its 2014 first-rounder for salary relief (Toussaint) and also included one of its 2013 first-rounders (Blair) in the Miller deal as well. They don't seem to value draft picks all that highly whatsoever. To me, this is Stewart just taking a firmer tone in negotiating through the media. This club is the definition of an "all-in" team (pardon the cliche), and to draw a line in the sand now after coming this far is nuts.

Thai

Wait. Wouldn't the D-backs lose their compensatory A pick (37th overall) instead of their second-round pick (51st overall) if they signed Howie Kenrick/

Steve Adams

They would, yeah. Did the original question I answered say "second round"? I read it as "second pick" (meaning the Comp pick), but a lot of these are kind of a blur to me. Sorry for any confusion. My point regarding the bizarre nature of Stewart's comments was in reference to his refusal to part with that pick -- at this point, why not? They've come too far to draw a hard line, in my eyes.

MLBTR Live Chat (1/5/16)


Edit: Added relevant chat excerpts from session with Steve Adams regarding losing draft picks for signing free agents.

[Ranma]

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[Ranma]

I'm still not entirely sold on Lazaro Armenteros as he seems more hype than phenom, but I do think he presents an intriguing project as a prospect in need of further development. Obviously, that would apply to all of our prospects in the Dodgers' system, but some of the criticisms of Armenteros seem odd as I never saw him as a centerfielder. He was always a corner outfielder to me with LF looking to be his best fit.

His stiff musclebound build is a concern, but Kapler's focus on health and nutrition along with a program that emphasizes flexibility and functional athleticism should mold his body to a more baseball-ready vessel. His approach at the plate is another area in clear need of improvement but that usually applies to most of the Dodgers' position prospects of the past. He supposedly is willing to put in the work to become a great major-league ballplayer but he's already engaging in off-field extra-curricular activity such as branding himself as "Lazarito" with an accompanying logo. It's probably something his agent cooked up with the aim of improving his market value through the hype machine, but it does pose a reasonable question as to how committed he truly is to his on-field goals.

It remains to be seen how interested the Dodgers are or will be in signing him, though they have an in with Jerry Hairston, Jr.'s cousin being his agent. There's been little information available to be able to assess him more fairly, but from the preliminary sound of things, I personally wouldn't mind taking a chance to sign him. However, I have higher priorities in pursuing Vladimir Gutierrez and monitoring the U.S.-Cuba relations for a possible shot at Lourdes Gourriel, Jr. I currently rate both Yadier Alvarez and Yusniel Diaz higher than Armenteros and his signing bonus should be reflected accordingly.

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Jesse Sanchez, MLB.com (1/11/16)

Armenteros put on a show, displaying plus bat speed during batting practice and plus speed down the baselines in front of scouts holding stopwatches. Armenteros later fielded balls in center field and in right field, showing off his arm and his agility.

But Armenteros, who will be 17 in May, also showed his age. Scouts noted an uppercut swing that could use some work as well as a few holes in his offensive approach that need attention. Some scouts raved about his throwing arm. Others said it was "fringy average."

Everyone loved his power, speed and the athleticism. Not everyone was enamored with his "muscular college-football-player body" and what that could look like in a few years if he doesn't take care of it.

Armenteros did show scouts "great hands" and advanced strength at the plate during the showcase, but he also showed the usual rust that comes with some Cuban players who have not consistently faced live pitching. On defense, some scouts wondered if Armenteros would be better suited for a corner outfield spot instead of center field.

Scouts walked off the field after the 45-minute showcase nodding their heads in approval, but also shrugging their shoulders in uncertainty. Did they just witness the Cuban version of a teenage Bryce Harper, or did they just watch a prospect who could end up as nothing more than a project?

This much is certain: every scout was intrigued by Lazarito. The teenager grabbed everyone's attention by posting a 6.48 second 60-yard dash to begin the showcase, and his tools are impressive enough to keep teams interested. By comparison, the average Major League Baseball player runs the 60-yard dash between 6.7 and 6.9 seconds.

Cuban Free Agent 'Lazarito' Puts on Showcase

[Ranma]

I didn't buy into the hype with the comparisons to Willie Mays, Bo Jackson, and Bryce Harper, but I'm a little surprised that Lazaro Armenteros was ranked lower than Eddy Julio Martinez in the updated MLB.com International Top 30 rankings. Then again, EJM still being ranked higher than Lucius Fox just seems like whoever put this list together is stubbornly holding onto his initial impressions and opinion. However, I think it's fair to lump Armenteros and Martinez in the same group as Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. and Starling Heredia in the 5-8 range.

I'm curious what new Dodgers international scouting executive Ismael Cruz thinks of the young Lazarito.

[Quake Griffin]

Ken Rosenthal
@Ken_Rosenthal
Jan 9
Sources: #Marlins among teams pursuing Cuban free-agent RHP Yaisel Sierra. Expected to beat Raisel Iglesias’ 7-year, $27M deal with #Reds.
View details ·


Ranma what are your thoughts there?
is Sierra one of the guys we need to grab?

[Ranma]

Ranma what are your thoughts there?
is Sierra one of the guys we need to grab?

We've talked about Yasiel Sierra before. Based on reports, he has an arm that can pitch around 96-97 mph and is an advanced enough prospect to possibly be a contributor to a major league team for the coming season as either a starter or reliever. Apparently, most Cuban pitchers throw from multiple arm angles, so he employs that in his pitching. He's working on a slider and changeup to go along with his fastball.

He's about 24 years old and not subject to the international signing pool restrictions. I was ambivalent about signing him before and nothing has come up to change my opinion of him. I've heard he's considered near the top of the second tier of Cuban prospects, so he's not as highly thought of as Vladimir Gutierrez or even Eddy Julio Martinez. I'm personally leaning against signing him as I don't like his upside. I think most teams view him as having the ceiling of a mid-rotation starter with an unlikelihood of ever being a star player.

I guess he's young enough to prove me wrong and eventually develop to be better than anticipated. If the Dodgers scouts sign off on him, I'd defer to their expertise but would question it unless there is more in-depth support for him that I missed. From what I've gathered, it seems like he's only excelled against lesser opponents (high schoolers) in showcases and struggled against more equal level competition in games. I think he'll appeal to a team more desperate for pitching with his high-velocity fastball and as a candidate to be fast-tracked to the majors. Fortunately, the Dodgers are not one of those teams that have to prioritize quantity over quality.

To be honest, I don't see other notable names who may become available as being all that attractive outside of a Gourriel, Gutierrez, or maybe Armenteros. However, there may be a few under-the-radar signings that could hold some promise like Onil Cruz and Emmanuel Marcano, both of whom the Dodgers have signed during this period.

Neither recent announcements by Randy Arozarena or Alfredo Rodriguez has me upset that we'll miss out on them. Although Rodriguez has an intriguing glove that won him the rookie-of-the-year award in Cuba's Serie Nacional. However, he only won because Yusniel Diaz defected to come to the Dodgers just before the award was to be handed out and his hitting has been subpar so far.

[Quake Griffin]

And nothing on Vlad Gutierrez eh?

smfh…wish we wouldn't miss out on him.

[Ranma]

And nothing on Vlad Gutierrez eh?

smfh…wish we wouldn't miss out on him.

It's funny. I thought he had a workout scheduled for this or last month, but he hasn't been heard from in a while. I wonder what the holdup is. Has he sustained an injury and his handlers are keeping it under wraps? It's just weird that there's been no update on him for a while. To my knowledge, no MLB team has signed him.