2009 Int'l FA Market: Cubs Sign 6 For $250,000+ Bonuses

[illiniguy]

i'm glad we have a presence in asia, but it would be really nice if some of these guys turn out to be good.

Rhee and Lee are both in our top ten. I think both could be good players.

[wvcbxl]

Non-Cubs related signing: the Braves signed 16yr old Dutch national Ruben Rijkhof (a pitcher/outfielder), who was playing for the youth squad of Spanish champions Marlins Puerto Cruz (Tenerife) - no contract details

[Guest]

Ed( San Diego,CA): Are there any Michael Inoa or Adys Portillo types in this year's international draft?

 

Ben Badler: (2:23 PM ET ) No, Ynoa was a rare talent. I don't think there's anyone who eclipses $4.25 million this summer.

 

Grapeweasel, Newark: On the 1-10 scale, excitement over the International Class of 2009 is....

 

Ben Badler: (2:24 PM ET ) An 8, mostly for the hitters at the top of the class and the uncertainty going on with regards to some of the ongoing investigations in Latin America.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/majors/espn-chat/2009/268026.html

[Guest]

Some of the top Latin American prospects making a buzz before July 2:

 

OF Wagner Mateo

SS Russell Herrera

SS Miguel Angel Sano - http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3974952

C Jacob Beltre

C Gary Sanchez

LHP Mariosal Cairo

LHP Victor Payano

RHP Anderson Encarnacion

RHP Rafael DePaula - http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias_det.php?id=186424&l=1

RHP Jurickson Profar, Curacao

LHP Sung-Bum Na, South Korea - sophomore in college in Korea

 

2010: SS Ramel Flores-García

 

There are a few other Korean prospects but I have no names. Of course the Cubs haven't had a mid 6-figure Latin American signing since Larry Suarez in 2006 (they did get Jeffry Antigua and Starlin Castro in 06 and Junior Lake and Nelson Perez in 07 but those guys got bonuses closer to $100,000).

[Guest]

ESPN Insider: http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4122088&name=la_esquina&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fentryID%3d4122088%26name%3dla_esquina

 

OF Guillermo Pimental (Dominican Republic) is likely to sign with the Rangers for at least $1.5 million.

 

The Rangers show interest Jurickson Profar (Curacao).

 

LHP Juan Urbina - Ugueth Urbina's son - has been most prominently linked to the NY Mets but he told ESPN via e-mail that he's still looking at other teams including the Cubs.

 

OF Jose Alberto Peña, RHP Cristopher Cabrera, and OF Luis Jolly are other prospects who are building a strong following of late. All are looking at bonuses around $500,000 - $1 million.

[Guest]

Global Post[/url]"]“So far, all teams we have shown him to said that they are going to find the money from the big bosses to pay him what he deserves,” says his trainer, “Moreno” Tejeda.

Moreno keeps a running list of the teams Sano has tried out for, and he chuckles when asked about it. As he starts to list off teams that are interested in Sano — Boston, Tampa, the New York Yankees, Seattle, Texas, Houston, the Chicago Cubs, Colorado — it becomes clear he’s talking about every team in MLB.

 

“There are scouts that tell me, ‘He is the next superstar that I’m going to sign,'" Moreno says with a smile.

 

As a result, Sano has faced a gauntlet of tryouts and showcases at virtually every team’s academy. These academies are the Dominican training centers for 29 MLB teams, where signed recruits live. There, they spend eight hours a day polishing their skills in order to move up in a team’s system, with the goal of making it to the United States and ultimately to the big leagues.

 

http://www.globalpost.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/medium/photos/13/baseball2b.jpg

 

Miguel Angel Sano is one of - if not the - biggest free agents looking to sign this July.

[Guest]

Global Post[/url]"]Jose Serra, Latin American director for the Chicago Cubs, is one of several MLB directors who prefer to avoid the July 2 hype. “I’m not focused on those players who are thinking about July 2nd,” he says. Alternatively, he signs players who he deems worth the investment for the Cubs — often for a fraction of their alleged July 2 value. He continues, “I’ve signed players for … 50, 60, even 100 thousand dollars with the same ability [of a] player who signed for 2 million on July 2nd.”

 

...

 

Serra signs between 10 and 20 players a year. Once they are in the academy, his job is to refine the players’ raw talent so that they can ultimately reach the United States. “When I sign the contract, I’m 100 percent sure that he’s gonna make it,” Serra says. “I don’t sign any minor leaguers. I sign big leaguers.” Nonetheless, although half of the players from any given academy will make it to the States, only a handful will ever get to take a swing at a Major League pitch.

[illiniguy]

Global Post[/url]"]“So far, all teams we have shown him to said that they are going to find the money from the big bosses to pay him what he deserves,” says his trainer, “Moreno” Tejeda.

Moreno keeps a running list of the teams Sano has tried out for, and he chuckles when asked about it. As he starts to list off teams that are interested in Sano — Boston, Tampa, the New York Yankees, Seattle, Texas, Houston, the Chicago Cubs, Colorado — it becomes clear he’s talking about every team in MLB.

 

“There are scouts that tell me, ‘He is the next superstar that I’m going to sign,'" Moreno says with a smile.

 

As a result, Sano has faced a gauntlet of tryouts and showcases at virtually every team’s academy. These academies are the Dominican training centers for 29 MLB teams, where signed recruits live. There, they spend eight hours a day polishing their skills in order to move up in a team’s system, with the goal of making it to the United States and ultimately to the big leagues.

 

http://www.globalpost.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/medium/photos/13/baseball2b.jpg

 

Miguel Angel Sano is one of - if not the - biggest free agents looking to sign this July.

Someone get him a better hat.

[craig]

Global Post[/url]"]Jose Serra, Latin American director for the Chicago Cubs, is one of several MLB directors who prefer to avoid the July 2 hype. “I’m not focused on those players who are thinking about July 2nd,” he says. Alternatively, he signs players who he deems worth the investment for the Cubs — often for a fraction of their alleged July 2 value. He continues, “I’ve signed players for … 50, 60, even 100 thousand dollars with the same ability [of a] player who signed for 2 million on July 2nd.”

 

...

 

Serra signs between 10 and 20 players a year. Once they are in the academy, his job is to refine the players’ raw talent so that they can ultimately reach the United States. “When I sign the contract, I’m 100 percent sure that he’s gonna make it,” Serra says. “I don’t sign any minor leaguers. I sign big leaguers.” Nonetheless, although half of the players from any given academy will make it to the States, only a handful will ever get to take a swing at a Major League pitch.

 

Sounds good, Jose. I can't say I've seen a lot of these ability guys you've signed having much success. We've got one of the weakest Latin farm populations in the league, it seems. And given AzPhil's boxscores from Mesa, it doesn't appear we have any Latin position players who are likely to ever make A+ from that crop, either. You never know with a pitcher or two, so hopefully some pitcher will emerge. But this sounds like dopey talk given how unsuccessful whatever approach he takes has been.

[Outshined_One]

Sounds good, Jose. I can't say I've seen a lot of these ability guys you've signed having much success. We've got one of the weakest Latin farm populations in the league, it seems. And given AzPhil's boxscores from Mesa, it doesn't appear we have any Latin position players who are likely to ever make A+ from that crop, either. You never know with a pitcher or two, so hopefully some pitcher will emerge. But this sounds like dopey talk given how unsuccessful whatever approach he takes has been.

 

I don't know much about Jose Serra's scouting past, although his name really sounds familiar. He was promoted back in January of 2008 from area scout, as memory serves me. So, all we have to go on are his signings last year, of which there were three notable names...

 

3B Joel Altagracia, Dominican Republic (age 16) - $140,000 bonus

SS Carlos Henry, Dominican Republic (age 16) - $110,000 bonus

C Ricardo Parra, Venezuela (age 17)

 

It'll probably be awhile before we know whether or not this guy is full of it.

[Guest]

Serra was an area scout in the Dominican for the Cubs for some time before his promotion.

 

And it sounds like Serra is repeating the organization mantra, at least in Latin America.Since the days when the Cubs dropped big bucks on the likes of Zambrano, Francisco and Pie, it seems like they have gone with more quantity over quality (in terms of bonus money) outside of the Larry Suarez signing.

 

I don't mind the strategy per se because I'm sure it's hard to properly scout a bunch of teenagers you don't get to scout that much but I would like to see the Cubs mix in a few bigger names. They absolutely should be able to do better in Venezuela given Big Z's success in the bigs.

 

I love what they're doing on the Pac Rim.

[Outshined_One]

Serra was an area scout in the Dominican for the Cubs for some time before his promotion.

 

Would you mind checking some of the BA Cubs' Top 10 lists? I want to say he's the scout who was attached to guys like Pie, Ceda, Castillo, and Castro, but I can't check. It's been driving me nuts.

[Guest]

I'm speaking from almost total ignorance here but it seems to me that the Latin market is very corrupt and the talent is overpriced. I don't really mind them playing on the secondary level. At the same time the Asian market is just now emerging and the Cubs are getting in on the ground floor. That sounds very wise to me.

[Guest]

Serra was an area scout in the Dominican for the Cubs for some time before his promotion.

 

Would you mind checking some of the BA Cubs' Top 10 lists? I want to say he's the scout who was attached to guys like Pie, Ceda, Castillo, and Castro, but I can't check. It's been driving me nuts.

 

You got it.

 

SS Starlin Castro (2006, DR)

C Welington Castillo (2004, DR)

CF Felix Pie (2001, DR)

RHP Juan Cruz (1997, DR)

RHP Francis Beltran (1996, DR)

 

Alberto Rondon:

 

SS Ronny Cedeño (1999, Venezuela)

LHP Renyel Pinto (1999, Venezuela)

RHP Carlos Zambrano (1997, Venezuela)

 

Hector Ortega:

 

RHP Angel Guzman (1999, Venezuela)

 

Jose Ceda was obviously signed by the Padres.

 

I believe Serra also signed Alfredo Francisco who received a huge bonus (but never made a Cubs top 10 prospect list).

[UK1679666180]

Similar to Ceda being signed by the Pads, Guzman was with KC (Ortega).

 

Regardless of how Wild West it still might appear to be in Latin America, I can't imagine in that country (minus the rare execeptions) that there would be enough sleeper prospects to justify going for quantity over elite quality. Like here, it's extremely rare now to find the next Bob Feller throwing in a barn or more recent examples of having a kid no one has seen actually throw in a hotel hallway without having someone spot him to profit or gain exposure of their own, if the kid has obvious talent.

 

They need the blend of one or two higher ceiling prospects and pay for them in bidding markets to go along with the untapped raw potential of athletes trying to become baseball players.

[Guest]

Similar to Ceda being signed by the Pads, Guzman was with KC (Ortega).

 

Regardless of how Wild West it still might appear to be in Latin America, I can't imagine in that country (minus the rare execeptions) that there would be enough sleeper prospects to justify going for quantity over elite quality. Like here, it's extremely rare now to find the next Bob Feller throwing in a barn or more recent examples of having a kid no one has seen actually throw in a hotel hallway without having someone spot him to profit or gain exposure of their own, if the kid has obvious talent.

 

They need the blend of one or two higher ceiling prospects and pay for them in bidding markets to go along with the untapped raw potential of athletes trying to become baseball players.

 

But Guzman's contract was voided, so he wasn't acquired in a trade a la Jose Ceda or Marcos Mateo.

 

I definitely agree with the rest of your post.

[UK1679666180]

So was Ortega the Venezuela scout for the Cubs or KC at the time?

[Outshined_One]

You got it.

 

SS Starlin Castro (2006, DR)

C Welington Castillo (2004, DR)

CF Felix Pie (2001, DR)

RHP Juan Cruz (1997, DR)

RHP Francis Beltran (1996, DR)

 

Thanks! I knew his name sounded really familiar.

 

Jose Ceda was obviously signed by the Padres.

 

Ah, duh. Can't believe I forgot that one. #-o

[UK1679666180]

The LA program just seemed to excel when Oneri was in charge and prob. just as important had more resources. Hopefully, the PR program under Wilson will do likewise with his talents and resources.

[Guest]

So was Ortega the Venezuela scout for the Cubs or KC at the time?

 

Cubs. He's been in the organization for some time. He is currently the Cubs Latin America supervisor (formerly, he was the Venezuela area scout and was promoted at the same time Serra was last year).

[Guest]

You got it.

 

SS Starlin Castro (2006, DR)

C Welington Castillo (2004, DR)

CF Felix Pie (2001, DR)

RHP Juan Cruz (1997, DR)

RHP Francis Beltran (1996, DR)

 

Thanks! I knew his name sounded really familiar.

 

A more comprehensive list: http://www.thebaseballcube.com/scouts/10066.shtml

 

Big leaguers: Francis Beltran, Juan Cruz, Carlos Marmol, Juan Mateo, Felix PIe and Felix Sanchez.

[questionmarkgrace]

Sounds like a crappy methodology to me. I understand the faults of the Latin America scouting systems but I dont see how signing five mid- to high range prospects versus eight to twelve relative unknowns has any advantage. Except in terms of keeping a low budget. Its like going to the bargain basement and finding some mint condition collectable for pennies. Sure it happens on occasion but its certainly not a great approach.

 

Drafting is an inexact science yes. Especially when these kids are 16, 17 years old (allegedly). But avoiding the top prospects, those with the best skill set, also risks passing on the next potential superstar.

[sandbergcubs]

Cubs Korean signings since Steve Wilson got on board:

 

RHP Dae-Eun Rhee (age 18) - $525,000 bonus (signed in 2007)

SS Hak-Ju Lee (age 17) - $725,000 bonus (signed in 2008)

RHP Su-Min Jung (age 18) - $510,00 bonus (signed in 2008)

C/OF Jae-Hoon Ha (age 18) - $225,000 bonus (signed in 2008)

OF Dong-Yub Kim (age 18) - $550,000 bonus (signed in 2009)

 

Age is at signing.

 

 

Steve Wilson signed the australian boys right? any word on how they are doing?

[Outshined_One]

Steve Wilson signed the australian boys right? any word on how they are doing?

 

RHP Ryan Searle is doing quite well in Daytona. LHP Cody Hams,RHP Adam Spencer, and OF Sean Williams are all currently down in extended spring training. We'll probably hear from them more often once Boise and Mesa start their seasons. For now, we have to rely on Arizona Phil's reports.

[Guest]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/international-affairs/2009/268082.html

 

MLB has implemented a new rule where international free agents who misrepresent their ages can be suspended one full year. Possibly the highest profile pitching prospect - Rafael DePaula - was recently suspended for lying about his age. Wagner Mateo, one of the most coveted hitting prospects, passed through the investigation with no problems.

 

Suspended:

 

RHP Rafael DePaula, Dominican Republic

OF Eladio Moronta, Dominican Republic

 

Irregular Investigation, Possible Suspension Coming:

 

SS Paul Carlixte, Dominican Republic

OF Eric Peguero (a.k.a. Junior Monteliz), Dominican Republic

OF Alfredo Ramos, Dominican Republic

 

Investigation Came Back OK:

 

OF Wagner Mateo, Dominican Republic