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  • Twins International Signing Period Preview

    Cody Christie

    By Cody Christie

    Baseball's July 2 international signing date is quickly approaching and this signing period can be one of the most valuable ways for organizations to add talent. These players can sign for big bonuses but they are signed at age 16 compared to older ages for MLB's domestic draft.

    Fans need to look no further than the current Twins roster to see valuable international pieces. Miguel Sano and Max Kepler were both signed in 2009 as part of the international signing period. Jorge Polanco is another starter who signed from the international market. Other top prospects like Fernando Romero, Felix Jorge and Engelb Vielma were international signees and they each are already on the 40-man roster.

    Image courtesy of Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

    Twins Video

    Overview of the Class

    Many national entities feel like the 2017 international signing class is very strong with two strong players at the top, Wander Franco and Daniel Flores. Baseball America said this about the class, "While there are 5-10 players who emerge among the elite prospects in a signing class, the 2017 group has strong depth of top-end talent. Any of the players in the top 15 could fit into a top five in many years.

    Hard Cap Era

    Baseball has been tightening its rules when it comes to signing players. This year will mark the beginning of the hard cap era for international signings. The majority of teams have a bonus pool of $4.75 million while smaller market clubs, like the Twins, get either $5.25 million or $5.75 million. Even with this hard cap, clubs are able to trade for up to 75 percent of their original pool allotment and they can trade away all of their pool.

    Minnesota has $5.25 million allotted for players in their bonus pool which means only eight clubs can currently spend more than the Twins. Eleven teams are currently under penalty for exceeding their bonus pools in previous signing periods. This means they are prohibited from signing any player for more than $300,000 during this season's international signing period.

    Twins Focus

    Switch-hitting shortstop Jelfrey Marte is expected to get a majority of the Twins' allotment pool. He has been linked to the Twins since this winter and he is expected to get a signing bonus around $3 million. Other sources told the Pioneer Press that a deal was "not done yet" but he should get over $2 million as a bonus.

    Marte is one of the top ranking Dominican shortstops in the class. Baseball America has him as the 13th overall international prospect in this signing class and the fifth best Dominican shortstop. MLB.com has a much higher view of Marte as he ranks third in their overall rankings. The only shortstop to rank higher than Marte on this list is Wander Franco who is considered the best player in the class.

    https://twitter.com/MikeBerardino/status/865572234378784768

    MLB.com offers some strong support for Marte. "He's a good runner with quick hands, a strong arm and the defensive tools that could make him an everyday shortstop one day. Scouts also like Marte's footwork, his polished actions and his range to both sides. On the offensive side, "Marte makes consistent hard contact from both sides of the plate. He has shown good bat speed and a solid approach. What's more, Marte is a line-drive hitter now but he could develop some pop as he grows and his body matures."

    According to Darren Wolfson, another name to watch is Venezuelan outfielder Carlos Aguiar. Baseball America has him as the 30th best prospect in the class while MLB.com didn't have him in their top-30. There will be other names as well but the Twins will likely use most of their bonus pool on Marte and Aguiar.

    Will the Twins trade for some more bonus pool space? What are your thoughts on Marte and Aguiar? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

    Cody Christie is a Twins writer and content contributor. His writing can be found exclusively at Twins Daily and his voice can be heard on radio stations throughout the Upper Midwest. Outside of the Twins, he is a father, high school teacher, and avid runner.
    Follow Cody Christie on Twitter: nodaktwinsfan

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    Featured Comments

    Bob Sacamento

    Bob Sacamento 2,046

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

     

    13. Jelfry Marte, ss, Dominican Republic

    Born: March 27, 2001. Height: 5-10. Weight: 165. B-T: B-R.

    While a lot of shortstops who will sign on July 2 are shortstops in name only, Marte is a safe bet to stay at the position. With a medium build and a thin frame, Marte is a bouncy, quick-twitch athlete with a chance to develop into a plus defensive shortstop. He’s a plus runner with slick actions in the field, where he does things with ease. He’s quick and agile with good body control and range to both sides, along with soft hands and an above-average, accurate arm. Marte has good defensive instincts but he has times where he plays out of control and tries to be too flashy rather than making the secure play.
    Marte is a true shortstop and scouts who believed in his bat had him higher up their lists. However, many scouts questioned how much impact he will provide at the plate and predicted he would hit toward the bottom of a lineup. Those scouts had concerns about both Marte’s pure hitting ability and his power, though getting stronger could help him become a better hitter. He’s mostly a singles hitter for now with occasional gap power and could grow into a 6-10 home run hitter in his prime. Marte is a potential high stolen base threat who causes havoc on the bases with an aggressive style and sharp baserunning instincts for his age. Marte trains with Alberto Fana and is expected to be one of the highest paid players in the class with a bonus likely to be around $3 million. The Twins are linked to Marte

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    70charger

    70charger 5,604

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    How do you pay 3M for a guy with questions on his bat? Any info on the other OF they signed?

    They're 16 year olds. Literally every single one of them has question marks about their bats.

     

    Would it help if maybe they went to college and won the triple crown in the nation's most competitive conference? Would that answe some of your questions? What's that? You hate that guy too?

     

    Hmm. So if we aren't picking 24 year old Mike Trout with every pick it's all just wasted? Got it.

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    AZTwin

    AZTwin 1,166

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    He's getting 3m because that's how much this market has valued him at.

    Exactly. That's my point. I highly doubt the Twins think he is a .240 or below hitter if they are shelling out that type of money

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    maxisagod

    maxisagod 148

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

    Looks like 8 players have signed this morning...

     

     

    And that's just from the Dominican. If you look at the lists of top unsigned players they fall into 2 categories. Not yet 16 or from Venezuela. I think independent experts and sources are much stronger in DR. It will be interesting who the Twins sign from elsewhere. 

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    caninatl04

    caninatl04 522

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

    What's wrong with this picture:

     

    Ronny Mauricio, ss, Dominican Republic (No. 3 prospect), $2.1 million.

     

    George Valera, of, Dominican Republic (No. 5 prospect), $1.3 million

     

    Julio Rodriguez, of, Dominican Republic (No. 6 prospect), $1.75 million
     

    Jelfry Marte, ss, Dominican Republic (No. 13 prospect), $3 million.


     

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    old nurse

    old nurse 2,366

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

    What's wrong with this picture:

     

    Ronny Mauricio, ss, Dominican Republic (No. 3 prospect), $2.1 million.

     

    George Valera, of, Dominican Republic (No. 5 prospect), $1.3 million

     

    Julio Rodriguez, of, Dominican Republic (No. 6 prospect), $1.75 million
     

    Jelfry Marte, ss, Dominican Republic (No. 13 prospect), $3 million.


     

    Somebody believes the accuracy of prospect rankings  of 16 year old kids

     

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    Mike Sixel

    Mike Sixel 41,021

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

     

    Somebody believes the accuracy of prospect rankings  of 16 year old kids

     

    That is, imo, unfair. There seems to be a reasonable question in his comment. I can't currently find a list of all the signings, but if there aren't many at that level, it seems reasonable to wonder why they paid that much.

     

    The teams clearly think they can rank 15 and 16 year olds, otherwise their wouldn't be big bonuses given out, so it isn't that they are not rankable at all.

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    youngtwinsfan

    youngtwinsfan 61

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

     

    What's wrong with this picture:

     

    Ronny Mauricio, ss, Dominican Republic (No. 3 prospect), $2.1 million.

     

    George Valera, of, Dominican Republic (No. 5 prospect), $1.3 million

     

    Julio Rodriguez, of, Dominican Republic (No. 6 prospect), $1.75 million
     

    Jelfry Marte, ss, Dominican Republic (No. 13 prospect), $3 million.


     

     Marte was as high as 3 on one board (MLB.com I think). Just shows how hard it is to judge these kids at such a young age. 

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    Mr. Brooks

    Mr. Brooks 7,174

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

    That is, imo, unfair. There seems to be a reasonable question in his comment. I can't currently find a list of all the signings, but if there aren't many at that level, it seems reasonable to wonder why they paid that much.

     

    The teams clearly think they can rank 15 and 16 year olds, otherwise their wouldn't be big bonuses given out, so it isn't that they are not rankable at all.

    But that ranking isn't done by the same people giving out the contracts.

    He could have listed mlb pipelines rankings instead and the bonuses would have matched up better.

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    Mike Sixel

    Mike Sixel 41,021

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

     

    But that ranking isn't done by the same people giving out the contracts.
    He could have listed mlb pipelines rankings instead and the bonuses would have matched up better.

     

    hence my statement that if very few are at that level, it raises the question, do the Twins feel that others would have spent that much on the player, since there are hard caps now, what you spend on one player matters more than ever.

     

    hence my statement that we need to see how much everyone got.

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    drjim

    drjim 7,100

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

    I do wonder if BA is more accurate right now. Most of the big deals are negotiated over a year ago, people change a lot in their 14/15/16 years.

     

    Marte is a fine prospect but certainly could have slipped from the point he was at when the Twins locked him up.

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    Mike Sixel

    Mike Sixel 41,021

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

     

    I do wonder if BA is more accurate right now. Most of the big deals are negotiated over a year ago, people change a lot in their 14/15/16 years.

    Marte is a fine prospect but certainly could have slipped from the point he was at when the Twins locked him up.

     

    that part makes it really hard for sure.

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    old nurse

    old nurse 2,366

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

    That is, imo, unfair. There seems to be a reasonable question in his comment. I can't currently find a list of all the signings, but if there aren't many at that level, it seems reasonable to wonder why they paid that much.

     

    The teams clearly think they can rank 15 and 16 year olds, otherwise their wouldn't be big bonuses given out, so it isn't that they are not rankable at all.

    When you look at dollar amounts and rankings there is no correlation. Hence the problem in the picture is someone believes the rankings mean something.  Unfair. Try cherrypicked numbers for his post

    http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/2017-team-team-international-signing-trackers/#QKg194xFZh19rleW.97

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    Bob Sacamento

    Bob Sacamento 2,046

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

    What's wrong with this picture:

     

    Ronny Mauricio, ss, Dominican Republic (No. 3 prospect), $2.1 million.

     

    George Valera, of, Dominican Republic (No. 5 prospect), $1.3 million

     

    Julio Rodriguez, of, Dominican Republic (No. 6 prospect), $1.75 million
     

    Jelfry Marte, ss, Dominican Republic (No. 13 prospect), $3 million.


     

    One, Jelfry Marte, is staying a SS, arguably the most important defensive position to fill while the other three are not.  Mauricio, Valera, and Rodriguez all have higher offensive projection and physical growth projection which is why BA has them ranked where they do and Marte at 13.  The Twins financially valued a bonafide SS who might develop as a hitter than other clubs.

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    gunnarthor

    gunnarthor 11,234

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

     

    What's wrong with this picture:

     

    Ronny Mauricio, ss, Dominican Republic (No. 3 prospect), $2.1 million.

     

    George Valera, of, Dominican Republic (No. 5 prospect), $1.3 million

     

    Julio Rodriguez, of, Dominican Republic (No. 6 prospect), $1.75 million
     

    Jelfry Marte, ss, Dominican Republic (No. 13 prospect), $3 million.


     

    Well, on mlb's list Mauricio is #10, Valera is #21 and Rodriguez is #9. Marte is #3. That's probably closer to the industry consensus.

    Daniel Flores, #2 on both lists, signed for 3.1m. Franco, #1, got 3.8m. The bigger question, in my mind, is why did Pereira, #4 on both lists, sign with the Yankees for only 1.5m? Are the Yankees doing a Red Sox and funneling him money?

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    maxisagod

    maxisagod 148

  • Verified Member

    • Posted (edited)

    New name posted on BA's Twins signed list today. Nomar Urdaneta, ss, Venezuela. Not much on him. He's part of KPL Baseball Academy in Valencia, Venezuela. Had tryouts with the Dbacks and Dodgers. 

    Edited by maxisagod
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