Luis Almeyda, 16-year-old Dominican shortstop could sign for upwards of $2 million w/Orioles

[MurphDogg]

Apparently the Orioles are going to sign this 16-year-old Dominican shortstop for upwards of $2 million when the International Free Agency market opens up on January 15th.

Besides being the (potential) recipient of the largest bonus the Orioles have ever given, the other interesting thing about Almeyda is that he has been heavily scouted as a youth player in New Jersey and only recently moved (back?) to the Dominican Republic, presumably to allow him to sign for $2M+in 2023 rather than wait to graduate high school in 2025 (or 2024 if he was able to graduate early).

I don't know whether there are any other players who have been able to take advantage of the different rules between domestic and international amateurs, but I found this really interesting. He definitely will have an advantage over other international signees as there will be no culture shock when coming to the U.S., and unlike most international signees I assume he speaks a fair amount of English and is likely fully bilingual, having spent years in the U.S..

Here is his Perfect Game page.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, MurphDogg said:

Apparently the Orioles are going to sign this 16-year-old Dominican shortstop for upwards of $2 million when the International Free Agency market opens up on January 15th.

Besides being the (potential) recipient of the largest bonus the Orioles have ever given, the other interesting thing about Almeyda is that he has been heavily scouted as a youth player in New Jersey and only recently moved (back?) to the Dominican Republic, presumably to allow him to sign for $2M+in 2023 rather than wait to graduate high school in 2025 (or 2024 if he was able to graduate early).

I don't know whether there are any other players who have been able to take advantage of the different rules between domestic and international amateurs, but I found this really interesting. He definitely will have an advantage over other international signees as there will be no culture shock when coming to the U.S., and unlike most international signees I assume he speaks a fair amount of English and is likely fully bilingual, having spent years in the U.S..

Here is his Perfect Game page.

I've seen it before but don't recall where.

I imagine it's been an option for a lot of the sons of Latin players.

[jamesenoch]

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2023-mlb-international-prospect-preview-million-dollar-shortstops/

Luis Almeyda, SS, Dominican Republic
Team: Orioles

Almeyda was well known from an early age on the college recruiting trail when he was growing up in New Jersey. While he could have had his pick among some of the top college programs in the country, he instead moved to the Dominican Republic and will sign for what should be a bonus above $2 million as an international free agent. At 6-foot-3, 180 pounds, Almeyda has a long, lanky build with righthanded power that has started to spike as he's begun to fill out, typically putting together solid at-bats with a mature approach for his age. Almeyda has smooth actions and is light on his feet at shortstop, where he has a chance to stick, though depending on how much more he grows he could end up at third base.

 

[GoldGlove21]

1 hour ago, jamesenoch said:

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2023-mlb-international-prospect-preview-million-dollar-shortstops/

Luis Almeyda, SS, Dominican Republic
Team: Orioles

Almeyda was well known from an early age on the college recruiting trail when he was growing up in New Jersey. While he could have had his pick among some of the top college programs in the country, he instead moved to the Dominican Republic and will sign for what should be a bonus above $2 million as an international free agent. At 6-foot-3, 180 pounds, Almeyda has a long, lanky build with righthanded power that has started to spike as he's begun to fill out, typically putting together solid at-bats with a mature approach for his age. Almeyda has smooth actions and is light on his feet at shortstop, where he has a chance to stick, though depending on how much more he grows he could end up at third base.

 

I am not a  member, but how many players were above that bonus amount among infielders. Really hope the Orioles can nab a top pitcher.

[RZNJ]

Sounds like Maikol Hernandez but hopefully better.  LoL

[btdart20]

6'3" at age 16.  I have to think there's another 4-5+ inches of growth ahead for this young man!  Maybe an Oniel Cruz clone.   

[CharmCityHokie]

8 hours ago, MurphDogg said:

Apparently the Orioles are going to sign this 16-year-old Dominican shortstop for upwards of $2 million when the International Free Agency market opens up on January 15th.

Besides being the (potential) recipient of the largest bonus the Orioles have ever given, the other interesting thing about Almeyda is that he has been heavily scouted as a youth player in New Jersey and only recently moved (back?) to the Dominican Republic, presumably to allow him to sign for $2M+in 2023 rather than wait to graduate high school in 2025 (or 2024 if he was able to graduate early).

I don't know whether there are any other players who have been able to take advantage of the different rules between domestic and international amateurs, but I found this really interesting. He definitely will have an advantage over other international signees as there will be no culture shock when coming to the U.S., and unlike most international signees I assume he speaks a fair amount of English and is likely fully bilingual, having spent years in the U.S..

Here is his Perfect Game page.

Jazz Chisholm went to high school in Kansas before moving back to the Bahamas and establishing his international free agency eligibility. There have been others but it's not typical for sure.

[Sydnor]

13 hours ago, MurphDogg said:

Apparently the Orioles are going to sign this 16-year-old Dominican shortstop for upwards of $2 million when the International Free Agency market opens up on January 15th.

Besides being the (potential) recipient of the largest bonus the Orioles have ever given, the other interesting thing about Almeyda is that he has been heavily scouted as a youth player in New Jersey and only recently moved (back?) to the Dominican Republic, presumably to allow him to sign for $2M+in 2023 rather than wait to graduate high school in 2025 (or 2024 if he was able to graduate early).

I don't know whether there are any other players who have been able to take advantage of the different rules between domestic and international amateurs, but I found this really interesting. He definitely will have an advantage over other international signees as there will be no culture shock when coming to the U.S., and unlike most international signees I assume he speaks a fair amount of English and is likely fully bilingual, having spent years in the U.S..

Here is his Perfect Game page.

George Valera who is currently a top prospect for the Guardians moved from NY to the DR to sign in international free agency.

Edited September 16, 2022 by Sydnor

[ArtVanDelay]

On 9/15/2022 at 5:59 PM, CharmCityHokie said:

Jazz Chisholm went to high school in Kansas before moving back to the Bahamas and establishing his international free agency eligibility. There have been others but it's not typical for sure.

Lucius Fox did something similar.  Got 6 million from the Giants. 

[sportsfan8703]

We picked Dylan Beavers #33 overall in the most recent draft and the allotted slot value for that pick was $2.3 million.  Puts things into perspective.  Any idea where Almeyda ranks overall in this int'l class?  Top 25?

[MurphDogg]

24 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

We picked Dylan Beavers #33 overall in the most recent draft and the allotted slot value for that pick was $2.3 million.  Puts things into perspective.  Any idea where Almeyda ranks overall in this int'l class?  Top 25?

If signing bonus can be used as a reasonable proxy for overall ranking, it is probably closer to top 10. During the last International signing period, 9 players had reported signing bonuses of $2M or more.

There were a couple other players ranked in the top 25 who didn't have signing bonuses reported, so they may also have exceeded $2M, as there is a loose policy to not publicly report exact figures of signing bonuses for Venezuelan players due to concerns of risk that it may cause the player or his family.

[MurphDogg]

The nature of Almeyda having grown up in New Jersey also suggests that he is the ideal type of player for a team like the Orioles that has a large bonus pool but hasn't been serious players in the Dominican Republic for long enough to have cultivated a relationship with top 16-year-old prospects and their family for half a decade.

[RZNJ]

10 minutes ago, MurphDogg said:

The nature of Almeyda having grown up in New Jersey also suggests that he is the ideal type of player for a team like the Orioles that has a large bonus pool but hasn't been serious players in the Dominican Republic for long enough to have cultivated a relationship with top 16-year-old prospects and their family for half a decade.

??.   Kolby Perez has been involved in the Dominican for longer than 3 years and has been with the Orioles for 3 years.   If this kid is 16, I think they've had plenty of time to cultivate a relationship with any current 16 year old unless you believe it starts when these kids are 10-12 years old.

[MurphDogg]

17 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

??.   Kolby Perez has been involved in the Dominican for longer than 3 years and has been with the Orioles for 3 years.   If this kid is 16, I think they've had plenty of time to cultivate a relationship with any current 16 year old unless you believe it starts when these kids are 10-12 years old.

I think it does start when a kid is 10-12 years old. Even if it didn't, it is only natural for the tippy-top prospects to be pushed towards scouting staff with an established presence on the island with their team, rather than Koby Perez in his first year or two with the Orioles when the Orioles hadn't ever spent their allotment.

If I were in a position where I was going to steer a kid towards (1) a team who we hoped would spend big for the first time in 2-3 years when my kid is going to be 16, or (2) a team that has always spent every year, it wouldn't be a hard decision as to which team to steer my kid toward. 

Edited September 19, 2022 by MurphDogg

[RZNJ]

Just now, MurphDogg said:

I think it does start when a kid is 10-12 years old. Even if it didn't, it is only natural for the tippy-top prospects to be pushed towards scouting staff with an established presence on the island with their team, rather than Koby Perez in his first year or two with the Orioles when the Orioles hadn't ever spent their allotment.

If I were in that position and I was going to steer a kid towards (1) a team who we hoped would spend big for the first time in 2-3 years when my kid is going to be 16, or (2) a team that has always spent every year, it wouldn't be a hard decision as to which team to steer my kid toward. 

We managed to get some of the top ranked players last year in Tavera, Arias, and Ampero so I would disagree.   We even managed to get Basallo and Hernandez (both over 1M) when it was considered that we were a year away from being a presence in Latin America.   Elias and Perez spoke as if last year we would be on a level playing field this year with our competitors.    From what they say, we are a full go down there this year.   Of course, teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Bravens, Rays, etc. are going to be after the same top players.