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

[Guest]

Per mlbtraderumors:

 

CF Kyung-min Na was signed by the Cubs for 725k and is called "the fastest player in Korean high school baseball

 

That'd make the Pac Rim haul pretty darn impressive this season if true.

 

If there's one thing that Jim Hendry has done real well on, it's allocating his resources to the Pac Rim. We're getting a lot more bang for our buck out there than we would be duking it out with all the other teams in the Dominican, Venezuela, etc...

 

i'm suspending judgment until i see if any of these guys turn out to be good players.

I'm not. I like it. I'm not a big fan of the WBC, but if it's taught me anything it is that Korean players can be really good. The question is does it have to do more with development than ability. If it's development the Cubs will be in trouble. If it's ability, they'll be fine.

[TruffleShuffle]

yeah don't get me wrong, i think it's a really good idea to be by far the biggest player for young talent in a significant market, but if the players don't turn into anything then it's not money well spent. judging by success of many asian players in the big leagues and the performance of the far east teams in the WBC, there should be a lot of talented high school talent there. the question is, are the cubs identifying it properly and will they develop it properly?

[Outshined_One]

Long piece on Aroldis Chapman by Jose Arangure on ESPN.

 

During the workout, his fastballs land in the middle of the strike zone, but when he begins to unleash his breaking stuff, several coaches move away from the backstop to avoid getting hit by balls bouncing off the catcher. The curveballs that do hit their target, however, drop several inches. Like many Cuban pitchers, Chapman has a vast repertoire: two-seam fastball, cut fastball, curve, slider, splitter and two or three kinds of changeups. But unlike many Cuban pitchers who throw a lot of junk (see: Liván and Orlando Hernández), the flamethrowing Chapman needs to master only one or two off-speed pitches to be effective in the majors. Right now scouts rate his secondary pitches as merely average, which is understandable considering he began to throw them less than five years ago.

 

. . .

 

Still, Chapman's velocity is intoxicating. Nearly all of baseball's big-money teams -- the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Angels, Dodgers and Cubs -- figure to at least kick the tires once he officially becomes a free agent. One high-ranking executive of a club that has interest says that before entering the bidding he'll need a lot more information, including Chapman's injury history, maturity level, family situation and proof of age. And, of course, big league scouts want to see him throw in person.

[Guest]

Long piece on Aroldis Chapman by Jose Arangure on ESPN.

 

Nearly all of baseball's big-money teams -- the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Angels, Dodgers and Cubs -- figure to at least kick the tires once he officially becomes a free agent.

I'm going to assume that the Cubs were thrown in there by shear laziness.

[Rob]

Long piece on Aroldis Chapman by Jose Arangure on ESPN.

 

Nearly all of baseball's big-money teams -- the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Angels, Dodgers and Cubs -- figure to at least kick the tires once he officially becomes a free agent.

I'm going to assume that the Cubs were thrown in there by shear laziness.

 

Cubs will almost assuredly take a look, but they wont be major players.

[RedFlash]

Long piece on Aroldis Chapman by Jose Arangure on ESPN.

 

Nearly all of baseball's big-money teams -- the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Angels, Dodgers and Cubs -- figure to at least kick the tires once he officially becomes a free agent.

I'm going to assume that the Cubs were thrown in there by shear laziness.

 

Cubs will almost assuredly take a look, but they wont be major players.

 

Agreed. The kid's age is anywhere from 21 and 26. That's a big problem for me. If he's closer to 26 then he loses alot of his potential. And considering he's going to look for anywhere from what Dice K and Contreras got, I say the Cubs should stay out. His performance in the WBC didn't impress me, and I have a feeling he is going to be an epic bust.

[Guest]

Long piece on Aroldis Chapman by Jose Arangure on ESPN.

 

Nearly all of baseball's big-money teams -- the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Angels, Dodgers and Cubs -- figure to at least kick the tires once he officially becomes a free agent.

I'm going to assume that the Cubs were thrown in there by shear laziness.

 

Cubs will almost assuredly take a look, but they wont be major players.

 

Agreed. The kid's age is anywhere from 21 and 26. That's a big problem for me. If he's closer to 26 then he loses alot of his potential. And considering he's going to look for anywhere from what Dice K and Contreras got, I say the Cubs should stay out. His performance in the WBC didn't impress me, and I have a feeling he is going to be an epic bust.

 

There is little to no doubt that he's 21 now.

[Guest]

Some random thoughts:

 

Kyung-Min Na got the same bonus as Hak-Ju Lee last year; both of them are tied for the largest bonus the Cubs have given out in Asia since the days of Hee-Seop Choi and Jae-Kuk Ryu. It also seems like there's a correlation with a higher bonus and the quality of the debut season for each Korean prospect - Lee > Rhee > Jung > Ha in terms of bonuses and I'd also say that their debut seasons worked/are working out the same way.

 

Craig is certainly right about the work toll on prep Asian arms. From what I've read, the amount of pitches prep arms in Japan, Korea and Taiwan throw, especially in tournaments, would make Kerry Wood's HS coach blush.

 

Also, here are the top bonuses in the Pac Rim since Steve Wilson took over:

 

South Korea:
Name          Bonus    Year  Age at Signing
Hak-Ju Lee    $725,000 2008  17
Kyung-Min Na  $725,000 2009  18
Dong-Yub Kim  $550,000 2009  18
Dae-Eun Rhee  $525,000 2007  18
Su-Min Jung   $510,000 2008  18
Jae-Hoon Ha   $225,000 2008  17

Taiwan:
Name             Bonus    Year  Age at Signing
Tzu-An Wang      $350,000 2009  18
Ping-Chieh Chen  $300,000 2009  17
Yao-Lin Wang     $260,000 2009  18
Hung-Wen Chen    $200,000 2007  21

Australia:
Name            Bonus    Year  Age at Signing
Cody Hams       $150,000 2008  18
Sean Williams   $150,000 2008  18
Adam Spencer    $130,000 2008  18
Ryan Searle     ?        2007  18

 

The Cubs have spent $2,185,000 on 5 Asian teenagers this year (Na and Kim from Korea and the two Wangs and Chen from Taiwan).

[1908]

The Cubs might be scouting Yusei Kikuchi. Here's a blurb from NPB tracker about his latest start at Koshein and the interest he's generating from pro teams on both sides of the Pacific. He turned 18 in June.

 

http://www.npbtracker.com/2009/08/kikuchis-latest-koshien-win/

 

If you follow NPB Tracker on Twitter, you might have already seen that Yusei Kikuchi won at Koshien again yesterday.

 

I wrote a bit about Kikuchi last spring, but this was my first chance to really see him in a game. He definitely has a live arm, with a heater that maxed out 154 kmph (~96 mph) but mainly seemed to range between 140-148 kmph (86-92mph). He went to his secondary stuff quite a bit, showing a slider with good movement, and a slow curve that appears to be more of the get-me-over variety at this point. He still has work to do on commanding his breaking pitches, but the movement is there and he changes speeds well.

 

Kikuchi has gotten public attention from just about every NPB team, with Hanshin and Yomiuri reportedly very interested in selecting him. I wrote about the MLB teams that watched in spring as well, notably the Rangers and the Mets. More MLB scouts have been watching him this summer, though I’ve learned to take that kind of news with a grain of salt. Daily Sports reported that the Cubs and Twins were in attendance for his August 17 game, but surprisingly I didn’t see any reports of MLB scouts at yesterday’s game.

I share Patrick's skepticism about him signing with an MLB team. But I suspect it has to happen at some point. Might as well be now and with the Cubs, right?

[toonsterwu]

If Kikuchi leaves for MLB, Japanese teams are going to have a cow. I bet there's going to be pressure put from all areas, to make sure that the Japanese League doesn't get it's feathers ruffled. That said, at the end of the day, it's the kids decision.

 

The most fascinating guy to me is still Tzu-An Wang. At that size, considering how raw he is to the game and physically, there's a lot that could be molded.

[1908]

If Kikuchi leaves for MLB, Japanese teams are going to have a cow. I bet there's going to be pressure put from all areas, to make sure that the Japanese League doesn't get it's feathers ruffled.

No doubt. That's a big reason why it's never happened before. That said, I don't think there's a rule on the books that would prevent him from signing with an MLB team. So while I'd be shocked if Kikuchi were the first, I do think it will happen at some point. The talent is there and MLB teams have a huge economic advantage.

[toonsterwu]

Weren't they trying to reach an agreement last year loosely covering this, post-Tazawa signing? I distinctly thought that the J-League approached MLB about trying to work out an agreement. Could be wrong.

[1908]

There was a lot of protectionist noise from the NPB side. I think they might've even created a rule that bans players who sign with MLB teams without playing in NPB first from ever playing in NPB, but I'm not positive. I'm not sure that would bother a kid determined to play in MLB from the start anyway.

[1908]

Yep, here's that rule:

 

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/sb20081010j1.html

Japan's pro baseball teams have agreed to introduce a ban on players who return to Japan after opting out of the amateur draft in order to play for overseas pro teams.

 

Executives of Japan's 12 professional teams decided to ban players who had graduated from high school from entering professional Japanese teams for three years after returning to Japan from overseas stints, and introduce a two-year ban for such players from university or company teams.

So it's not a lifetime ban.

[toonsterwu]

In that society, that's definitely going to play a role.

 

Wasn't the Korean League pondering a similar thing as well? Maybe not a ban, but I thought I recalled hearing something similar this past winter. Maybe I'm mistaken.

 

About the only league that wouldn't care is the CPBL. Used to be a decent league, but mismanagement, corruption, and so forth have really brought it down. I think most Taiwanese people are ecstatic when Taiwanese kids sign abroad, particularly, the US.

[1908]

Wasn't the Korean League pondering a similar thing as well? Maybe not a ban, but I thought I recalled hearing something similar this past winter. Maybe I'm mistaken.

Yeah, there was a blurb on East Windup Chronicle about the Korean League thinking about taking steps to stop the outflow of Korean prospects. I believe the quote even mentioned the key being to "stop the Cubs" -- which was awesome.

[Guest]

Wasn't the Korean League pondering a similar thing as well? Maybe not a ban, but I thought I recalled hearing something similar this past winter. Maybe I'm mistaken.

Yeah, there was a blurb on East Windup Chronicle about the Korean League thinking about taking steps to stop the outflow of Korean prospects. I believe the quote even mentioned the key being to "stop the Cubs" -- which was awesome.

 

East Windup Chronicle[/url]"]Over the weekend there were a number of articles in the Korean media sounding alarm bells at the number of high school prospects signing with MLB teams. This one quotes a KBO scout saying if they “stop the Cubs” they can stop the exodus of talent. Not surprisingly, the seats behind home plate at Mokdong Stadium, where a big high school tournament is wrapping up now, were dug up and rendered useless the day after the news of the three signings broke. Well, except for the walled off area that the Korean scouts sit in.

[toonsterwu]

I knew about that blurb ... I thought I read something more specific somewhere else, but maybe not. I'll try to take a look around later this evening, but I thought there was something about working to put a policy together of some sort.

[1908]

I haven't seen anything else along those lines but it wouldn't surprise me.

[Guest]

I knew about that blurb ... I thought I read something more specific somewhere else, but maybe not. I'll try to take a look around later this evening, but I thought there was something about working to put a policy together of some sort.

 

I read something about that on EW Chronicle too; especially in regards to what they'd do with a national hero like Chan Ho Park when it came to that rule. I *think* there was some discussion of it in the 2008 Int'l FA amateur market thread.

[Guest]

This is all I could find in a quick search, primarily deals with NPB: http://eastwindupchronicle.com/new-barbed-wire-for-the-the-gulag/#more-2579

 

The NPB has thrown down a ruling in the Junichi Tazawa situation, stating that Japanese amateur players that opt to make themselves eligible to sign with major league teams will be subject to a 2-3 year ban should they ever attempt to return.

 

...

 

Taiwan has talked about, but hasn’t officially installed a similar rule. Korea had such a rule in place following the mass defections of players like Kim Byung-hyun and Choi Hee-seop in the late 90s, but rescinded said rule shortly thereafter.

[toonsterwu]

yeah 1908 put the specific rule in a post above for the Japanese League. I've been trying to search to see if there was something for the Korean League, or even some loose discussions on it, but maybe I'm mistaken. If I get a chance, I'll ask some Korean friends to perhaps do a quick google search in Korean news.

[Guest]

The Cubs might be scouting Yusei Kikuchi. Here's a blurb from NPB tracker about his latest start at Koshein and the interest he's generating from pro teams on both sides of the Pacific. He turned 18 in June.

 

The Cubs (scout Danny MacLeith) are definitely scouting Kikuchi (and now HS freshman Takuro Itoh):

 

Bloomberg.com[/url]"]Fifty thousand people packed into Koshien Stadium to watch Yusei Kikuchi throw 94 mile-an-hour fastballs in Japan’s biggest sporting event: the summer high school baseball tournament. It may be their last chance.

 

By October, the 18-year-old must choose Japan or the U.S. for a career he’s dreamed about since primary school. Signing at home would rule Kikuchi out of a U.S. move for as many as nine years, while choosing Major League Baseball may open the door to a stream of amateurs spurning Japan for a chance to play alongside countrymen like Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka.

 

“Kikuchi would open things up completely,” Danny MacLeith, a scout for the Chicago Cubs, said in an Aug. 17 interview behind home plate at Koshien, in Nishinomiya city west of Osaka. “If he’s available and wants to go, he needs to say so because the Japanese draft is two months away. It’s time.”

 

...

 

MacLeith is easy to spot at Koshien, a Californian wearing a yellow Cubs shirt and a wide-brimmed hat to stave off the 36- degree-Celsius (97 Fahrenheit) heat in the packed stadium. Millions more tune in to national broadcaster NHK to watch the two-week tournament.

 

This year, the attention is on Kikuchi, a 184-centimeter (six-foot), 84-kilogram (185-pound) left-hander. His fastball already would make him among the hardest throwers on a major- league team. His aggressive approach on the mound -- notching 32 strikeouts in 25 innings in a regional tournament -- belies his manner when speaking to the media.

 

“I’m glad that scouts from world-class baseball teams are actually watching me play,” Kikuchi said after a practice session on Aug. 15. “I basically shrug off the pressure.”

 

Team manager Hiroshi Sasaki says discussing Kikuchi’s future must wait until the tournament ends on Aug. 24.

 

For scouts watching his games, Kikuchi has given just enough signals to suggest he’s considering a move to MLB. The Nikkan Sports newspaper quoted Kikuchi telling other students he wants to go to the U.S. “as soon as possible.”

 

Giants’ scout Cox says U.S. teams are aware that persuading young players to play for them is a “sensitive issue in Japan,” adding that his team will approach a player only after he states publicly his intention to leave.

 

Whatever Kikuchi chooses, U.S. scouts will keep coming to Koshien. A future target may be Takuro Itoh, a freshman at Teikyo High School who clocked 91 miles per hour (146 kilometers per hour) pitching a third of an inning of relief in the first round of the tournament.

 

“He wasn’t on my list coming here, but he is now,” MacLeith said.

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?pid=avimage&iid=igGNqKyLOAS0

[1908]

Don't tease me, Raisin.

[Mephistopheles]

Yuki Saito should be coming out next year and will probably sign with a MLB team.