Written by Greg Fertel
|
12 June 2008
ESPN has a great
writeup on some of the top prospects available in the latest crop of talented Latin American teenagers, including some scouting reports, rumors, and a list of the top 14 Latin American prospects. The head of international scouting for the Yankees, Carlos Rios, has mentioned that this year (and next year) are supposed to be very strong years for Latin American talent, and I believe that the Yankees are ready to spend big to get several of the top talents.
The top talent in the class is supposedly the much-ballyhooed pitcher Michel Inoa, who at 16 is already 6'7", and can hit 94 with the fastball. He is rumored to have several offers in the 3 million range, and reportedly, usually tightfisted Oakland is willing to give him 4 million. 6'3" Adis Portillo, 6'5" Santo Franco and 6'0" lefty Swarling Jimenez are among some of the other top pitchers available. Portillo, the #3 talent on the ESPN list, is reportedly demanding a bonus over 2 million, and will get it. Outfielder Yorman Rodriguez (#2), outfielder Rafael Rodriguez (no relation to Yorman) (#4), and shortstop Alvaro Aristy (#6) are among the top position players available. Rafael Rodriguez appears to be off the market already, however, as he has reportedly agreed with the Giants to a 2.5 million dollar bonus. There are rumors that Yorman Rodriguez (no relation) has an oral agreement with a team already.
The Yankees have reportedly been hard after lefty pitcher Carlos Perez, #14 on the list offering him $850,000 to sign. The fact that the #14 talent has an offer of nearly 1 million gives you an idea of the talent of this year's class. The Yankees have also reportedly been hard after Inoa, and could be among the teams in the running for Yorman Rodriguez, as the Yankees do like to reach agreements with top talents early on. I know very little about these guys, but it will be exciting to see where the top guys end up, and which players the Yankees sign. I expect to see multimillion dollar signing bonuses flying around this year, and Inoa will likely surpass the record for the highest bonus for a Latin teenager.
