July 2nd is Int'l Signing Day

[Frayed Knot]

Not quite as hyped as Draft Day, but a big day in the future life of a franchise (maybe) but with an even bigger margin for error and also now with its own spending cap system.

Anyway, The Mets have signed Dominican shortstop Amed Rosario for $1.75MM, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. The figure might mark the largest bonus given to a Dominican player during this signing period, Badler tweets.
Badler writes that Rosario might be the most divisive player in Latin America. Those who like him say that he has strong fielding instincts, hands, and arm strength. Other scouts fear that he is prone to strikeouts with his uppercut stroke.



oe: more from BA
Rosario, the No. 11 international prospect for July 2, is a 16-year-old righthanded hitter with plenty of room to fill out his lanky, 6-foot-3, 170-pound frame. Some teams project Rosario as a shortstop with offensive upside, though others think he may outgrow the position.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Additionally, as per the horse's mouth, Dominican 2B Franklin Correa and Venezuelan SS Miguel Patino (terms unknown).

Correa, 16, is a righthanded batter, who also throws righthanded. The 5-9, 176-pounder grew up in Santo Domingo. Patino, 16, also bats and throws righthanded. The 5-11, 155-pounder resides in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela and has a brother Alfredo who plays in the Royals minor league system. Patino is set to graduate from Liceo Jose Maria Espana Secondario High School.

Now THAT's a scouting report. Bats AND throws right-handed? Well, sign me up!

[Benjamin Grimm]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Now THAT's a scouting report. Bats AND throws right-handed? Well, sign me up!

The thing is, he does both simultaneously!

[nymr83]

Keith Law wrote a short piece on the 6 biggest international signings, here what he says on Rosario (after cautioning that he doesn't scout internationally himself so this info is all from sources)

keith law on espn wrote: Amed Rosario, SS, Dominican Republic (Reported bonus: $1.75 million) Rosario is toolsier than the Venezuelan infielders listed here, with more bat speed and a looser, more projectable body, but his swing is less under control right now and he carries more risk overall. He has the hands and arm strength to stay at shortstop if he doesn't end up outgrowing the position; he could also end up a power-hitting third baseman if the Mets can calm him down at the plate and get his hips and legs working better with his hands.

[ashie62]

Ok....a whole load of 16 year olds have been signed to the custody of MLB..

One out of how many will make it?

The rest will have no education, stay in the U.S. and work menial jobs for the rest of their lives.

Thats exploitation.

[Edgy MD]

Well, it's exploitation because they have their marketability artificially limited by bogus regulations that should be thrown out by a court. But it's untrue that most end up in menial stateside jobs or necessarily stick in the US past baseball. Many who don't flourish will remain in the minors for years, well past 30 --- including the indy leagues.

And for many of those who don't, if they are able to keep their visas active beyond their baseball careers, their remaining professional options are probably better in the US than the Dominican.