Twins 2014 International Signings (BA Review)

[Oxtung]

Start another team? I was given 4 bad choices, I chose what I considered the least bad of the 4.....

Oh I agree with you, I was just trying to point out that the original question didn't make much sense. I think a balance is the way to go as well.

[maxisagod]

Lachlan Wells, (for those of you who don't know) was one of the Twins annual high bonus Australians from the 2014 signing period. I believe his bonus was in the 300,000 range. 

 

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/2479984/lachlan-wells-signs-with-minnesota-twins-video/

 

 

[Thrylos]

 

Question for the group:

 

Would you rather see the Twins sign one player at $1 million, or 10 guys at $100,000?

If they're allotted $3 million, would you rather they signed one player at $3 million, or 30 players at $100,000?

 

Depends on the players who are available.  The Twins have an excellent farm system and do not need additional fillers at this point.  They already cutting players who are MLB-caliber players because they have better players.

So it has to be quality over quantity.  If there is a single player who is like Sano, they got to go after him.  If there is not, I'd rather see them sign 2-3 "B" players in position of need (LHSP, for example) and save their money for something else.  Then fill the DSL squad with D players with minimal bonuses to have a squad.  And maybe one will pan out.

 

That half-rear end non-planning thing has to stop.

[Hrbowski]

 

Lachlan Wells, (for those of you who don't know) was one of the Twins annual high bonus Australians from the 2014 signing period. I believe his bonus was in the 300,000 range. 

 

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/2479984/lachlan-wells-signs-with-minnesota-twins-video/

Sounds like another Thorpe.

[Bob Sacamento]

From Baseball America:

Top signing: RHP Huascar Ynoa, Dominican Republic, $800,000.

 

Six-figure signings: OF Jean Carlos Arias (Dominican Republic), LHP Lachlan Wells (Australia), LHP Luis Bellorin (Venezuela), OF Jose Bermudez (Venezuela), 1B Jack Barrie (Australia), RHP Brusdar Graterol (Venezuela), RHP Moises Gomez (Dominican Republic).

 

Total signings: 22

 

Aside from Cuban players, the most glowing reports I’ve ever received from scouts on international players since 2008 were for Michael Ynoa and Miguel Sano. Ynoa, a righthander from the Dominican Republic, signed with Oakland when he was 16 on July 2, 2008 for $4.25 million, which at the time set an international amateur record, since eclipsed by Rangers outfielder Nomar Mazara. Ynoa’s career has been derailed by injuries, with a total of nine innings in his first three seasons, and the A’s have since dumped him to the White Sox as a throw-in as part of the Jeff Samardzija trade. At the time Ynoa signed, he had a 10-year-old brother, Huascar Ynoa, who blossomed into one of the best pitching prospects in Latin America last year. After Ynoa dominated at the MLB international showcase last year in February, he looked like he had a chance to be the highest-paid pitcher on the market, but erratic performances after that, including a pair of outings with the International Prospect League in Arizona during spring training, dinged his stock before he signed with the Twins for $800,000 on July 2.

Ynoa doesn’t have his brother’s lanky 6-foot-7 frame, with a more physically mature build at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds and still 16 years old. His stuff is advanced for his age, with three pitches that flash average or better right now. He throws 88-92 mph with good movement, though despite his youth his fastball might not grow too much more because of how he’s built. Ynoa’s repertoire is more diverse than most Dominican pitchers his age. He throws a mid-70s curveball with good depth and maintains his arm speed on a low-80s changeup. Both pitches can be swing-and-miss offerings when they’re on, and he’s not afraid to throw any pitch in any count.

 

Aside from just being young, Ynoa’s inconsistency as an amateur stemmed from his delivery. He has plenty of pitching experience (he went to Aberdeen, Md. in 2011 for the Cal Ripken World Series), but his control would often desert him. He isn’t a max-effort thrower and he stays online to home plate, but he has some shoulder tilt in his delivery, which caused him to get uphill, elevate his pitches and lose command of the strike zone. Some of that may have been Ynoa overthrowing for the radar gun during the tryout process, causing him to get under the ball. The Twins have been encouraged with the mechanical adjustments he’s made since signing to stay on top of the ball, generate downhill angle and pitch under control. No pitcher last year drew a more split camp among scouts than Ynoa, but if the mechanical tweaks can lead to better control, there are evaluators who see him as a potential frontline starter. Ynoa, who trained with Edgar Mercedes, is ticketed to open the year in the Dominican Summer League.

 

Another July 2 signing, Dominican outfielder Jean Carlos Arias, landed a $450,000 bonus after training with Fausto “Chiqui” Mejia and playing in the Dominican Prospect League. Arias is a 17-year-old lefty who stands out in center field with plus speed, good defensive instincts and an average arm. At 5-foot-10, 150 pounds, Arias is a good athlete whose defense and raw tools are still ahead of his game skills. He doesn’t project to have much power, so his offensive game will be geared toward hitting line drives and working gap to gap.

 

Dominican catcher Darling Cuesto, who trained with Victor Baez, signed for $200,000 on July 2. Cuesto, 17, impressed the Twins with his ability to hit and field his position well for his experience level. He’s a 6-foot, 175-pound righthanded hitter with a line-drive stroke with a chance to hit for average more so than power. Cuesto is a former infielder who moved to catcher around a year or so before he signed, so like any young catcher there’s still work to do on defense, but he’s fairly athletic and moves around well behind the plate.

 

Luis Bellorin, who signed for $230,000 in July, is a 17-year-old pitchability lefthander from Venezuela. Bellorin doesn’t light up the radar gun, but there’s projection left on his 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame to add to his 84-87 mph fastball. His best pitch might be his curveball, which has big, sharp break, and the Twins’ liked his ability to throw strikes, though he had trouble with that pitching this winter in the Liga Paralela, the minor league version of the Venezuelan League.

 

Another Venezuelan pitcher, Brusdar Graterol, was one of the youngest players signed last year having turned 16 on Aug. 26 (about a week before the 2015 eligibility cutoff). He signed a few days after his birthday for $150,000 after impressing the Twins with his advanced feel for pitching for his age. At 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, Graterol throws 86-89 mph with good touch on his offspeed stuff, including a curveball that’s more developed that his changeup.

 

Venezuelan outfielder Jose Bermudez, a 17-year-old who signed for $215,000 in July, has imposing size (6-foot-4, 190 pounds) and the tools scouts look for in a right fielder. He has the size and strength projection to hit for power, with below-average speed and a plus arm for right field. His righthanded bat will need patience, although if hitting doesn’t work, his combination of physical projection and arm strength would make pitching an intriguing fallback option. Bermudez trained with Emiro Barboza.

 

During the 2013-14 signing period last year in April, the Twins also gave $150,000 to Venezuelan righthander Moises Gomez, who pitched well in the DSL, where he had a 2.03 ERA, 30 strikeouts and 10 walks in 26 2/3 innings. Gomez, a 17-year-old who’s 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, had been a catcher up until a couple of years ago when he moved to the mound. As an amateur, Gomez touched 92 mph with good angle and life, then hit 93 in the DSL and has a good chance to throw in the mid-90s eventually. He has good feel for his curveball already, although the changeup will be a developmental emphasis, otherwise he might fit better as a two-pitch guy out of the bullpen.

 

The Twins are one of the most aggressive teams when it comes to signing players in Australia, and they grabbed two players from there last year for six-figure deals, including lefthander Lachlan Wells for $300,000 in August. Wells, 18, pitched in the MLB Australian academy and was teammates with fellow Twins lefty Lewis Thorpe at the 18U World Cup in September 2013 in Taiwan. Wells is an athletic 6-foot, 165-pound pitcher who has seen his velocity grow into the mid-to-upper 80s and touch 90 with heavy action from his low arm slot. At times he overthrows and loses the strike zone, and his low slot contributes to some inconsistency with his offspeed stuff flattening out, including a slurvy slider and a changeup that remains a work in progress.

 

The Twins also signed Australian first baseman Jack Barrie for $200,000 during the 2013-14 signing period last year in February. Barrie, 19, has a strong, heavy frame at 6-foot-4, 250 pounds and impressed the Twins with his above-average raw power before he signed. After he recovered from a broken wrist in 2013, Barrie dominated Australia’s 18U national championships last year in January just before he signed, going 26-for-44 (.636) with four home runs in 11 games. He didn’t stand out much though once he got to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League last year, batting .205/.284/.233 with 26 strikeouts in 25 games.

 

 

[howieramone2]

 

Depends on the players who are available.  The Twins have an excellent farm system and do not need additional fillers at this point.  They already cutting players who are MLB-caliber players because they have better players.

So it has to be quality over quantity.  If there is a single player who is like Sano, they got to go after him.  If there is not, I'd rather see them sign 2-3 "B" players in position of need (LHSP, for example) and save their money for something else.  Then fill the DSL squad with D players with minimal bonuses to have a squad.  And maybe one will pan out.

 

That half-rear end non-planning thing has to stop.

 

 

 

 

 

Which MLB-caliber players have they cut? Can you provide details on what half-rear end non-planning thing has to stop?