Written by Greg Fertel
|
02 July 2007
According to a Pinstripes Plus
article (which is free until July 4th), the Yankees signed 9 Latin American prospects today. Outfielder Kelvin DeLeon was, as expected, the centerpiece of the group. In this
article on ESPN Deportes (it's in Spanish, but a great find by Chofo.) a Yankee executive says that they have been tracking these players for 2 years. Here's the list (will be updated as I find bonus and scouting information).
The 2007 July 2nd Class
Kelvin DeLeon (OF, D.R.) 1.1 million
"Plus-plus power potential" (Chris Kline, Baseball America). Compared to Vladimir Guerrero and José Guillen by the Yankees' Latin American scouting director, Ramón Valdivia (ESPN Deportes article).
Eduardo Sosa (OF, Venezuela)
Elio De La Roza (3b, D.R.) 700,000
Henry Pena (OF, D.R.)
Compares himself to Bobby Abreu.
Arodis Vizcaino (RHP, D.R.) 800,000
"...has a tremendous arm, and he is throwing 94 mph despite only turning 16 recently." (translated by yours truly from ESPN Deportes).
Edwin Beard (OF, D.R.)
Maicar Sousa (AKA Maicar Alves?) (RHP, Brazil) 20,000
Jorge Liccien (C, Venezuela)
Josue Rodriguez (C, Venezuela)
Jose Mojica/Asuni Baez (SS, D.R.)
Carlos Rios was very interested in Mojica. The fact that they signed him despite learning that he was actually 18 speaks to his talent.
Hopefully, the Yankees were able to get most of the players that they targeted, and will get some high-upside talents out of this class. Pinstripes Plus said that more signings can be expected in the next few weeks, so it's possible they could add to this group. Props to Patrick Teale of Pinstripes Plus for getting this info out so soon.
