Written by Greg Fertel | 23 August 2007

In the past few weeks, once the draft signings had been made official, superagent Scott Boras has inserted himself into the virtually unregulated market of international free agents. His newest prize talent: 16 year-old shortstop Edward Salcedo from the Dominican Republic. Here's the scouting report on Salcedo: http://www.perfectgame.org/players/playerprofile.aspx?ID=123749

Edward Salcedo is a FA SS with a 6'3'', 190 lb. frame from La Vega, Dominican Republic. Big League body, strong and athletic. Smooth, easy defensive actions, easy plus arm, can really play SS. Aggressive swing, power projection, deep load from wide base, good bat speed, geared to drive fastballs, timing will be an issue. All the tools to be a top player. Potential 1st round type if in draft.

The site also mentions that he throws 93 from short to first, and has a 60 time of 6.81. I don't know how fast a 6.81 60 makes him, but hitting 93 from shortstop indicates impressive arm strength.  According to the Perfect Game site, Justin Upton hit 91 from the infield as a high school senior, which might mean that Salcedo at 16 has a better arm than Upton, whose tools have always been raved about. While the Yankees have already made a big splash in the international free agent market by signing Kelvin DeLeon and a host of other talented teenagers, they were mentioned along with the Mets, Mariners, Indians and Reds as teams interested in signing Salcedo, whom Boras compares to A-Rod in terms of talent. However, Boras' bonus demands for the 16 year-old are immense: reportedly over 4 million for a player who just turned 16 a few weeks ago (which is why he was not signed on July 2nd like all the rest). The largest bonus paid by the Yankees to an international free agent was 2.5 million for Wily Mo Pena (that one worked out, didn't it), but Salcedo, who apparently turned down a 3.5 million dollar offer already, would shatter this mark. Our good friend Peter Gammons, in a chat with Boston.com, is reporting that Yankees are supposedly signing Salcedo for a bonus over 4.5 million, which would be the most ever for a international free agent who has never played professional ball. If Salcedo's talent is proportional to his bonus, then he will be another very exciting prospect to follow, even if we don't see him play for a little while. While this is no official confirmation for this signing, if true, the Yankees will have added another tremendously talented teenager to their minor league system, and possibly strengthened their relationship with Scott Boras (I'm just hoping he didn't ask for a Major League contract) in what could be a very important offseason. It'll be years before we know whether this was a smart investment or if Boras pulled the wool over Cashman's eyes, but Salcedo could have the talent to become the Yankees' shortstop of the future. It looks like they put the money not spent on Carpenter, Peavey, Holle, etc to good use. hat tip to the Nyyfans minor league forum

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