International Period Begins Sunday - Baseball America has the Orioles signing 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Luis Almeyda for more than $2 million.

[Roll Tide]

Quote

The next international signing period begins on Sunday, and Baseball America has the Oriole signing 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Luis Almeyda for more than $2 million. MLBPipeline.com ranks him as the No. 20 prospect.

Almeyda is listed at 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds, and he eventually could move to third base. Scouts believe he has the potential to become a five-tool player.

Here’s what Baseball America’s Ben Badler wrote about Almeyda back in September:

“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.”

 

Edited January 11, 2023 by Roll Tide

[sportsfan8703]

My question would be is our we are least in the top 20 yet in class rankings? That would be huge. We’re not going to have high draft picks every year, so we really need the Dominican signings to pick up. I have faith in Kolby Perez. 

[sportsfan8703]

If Almeyda stayed in the U.S. and entered this years draft, would he be a first rd pick?  

[Jagwar]

Sure would love to see the O's sign some pitchers in this international period

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, sportsfan8703 said:

If Almeyda stayed in the U.S. and entered this years draft, would he be a first rd pick?  

I doubt most teams would use their first round pick on a 16-year old, unless he was super-advanced.   Just too much developmental risk.   Maybe the guys who get $4 mm + bonuses would get picked somewhere in the first round.   But that’s just my guess.  

[RZNJ]

1 hour ago, Jagwar said:

Sure would love to see the O's sign some pitchers in this international period

Of course they will.  They’ve been signing them every year.   It takes time but Delosantos, Chace , Rangel, Deivy Cruz, were all up in Delmarva last year.

[RZNJ]

https://images.app.goo.gl/CR1tQ8kE3neKyaJm8

https://mobile.twitter.com/teamalmeyda2006?lang=en

 

Edited January 11, 2023 by RZNJ

[Just Regular]

I believe Elias gave out a quote around time of Povich-McDermott-Johnson acquisitions he liked seeing how Arms fared on the calendar of pro ball.

I am guessing the Bats/Arms spend by MLB Clubs on 16-year-olds is probably nowhere near 50/50.     I've heard of Bryce Harper as a high school sophomore but don't think if I've heard of the Kerry Wood or Josh Beckett type guys that early.     I heard of Nick Bitsko lighting up guns at a young age his draft year, but he hurt himself too.

There's more information than ever on the art of growing Cy Young candidates, and it feels possible that if you want to do what Jacob deGrom did when you are 30, maybe in part you need to chill out while your body matures.      Its why our regime having the DL-Grayson pair will be interesting baseball craft to watch unfold.

[btdart20]

2 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

If Almeyda stayed in the U.S. and entered this years draft, would he be a first rd pick?  

Lots of 16 y/o are on scouting radars but I doubt they are projected on current draft boards because it's exercise just for fun.  So how high they are projected is anybody's guess. And if drafting 16 y/o's in the US was legal, I'm sure some would actually be drafted even with the additional growth risks.   The hype around Druw Jones and Bryce Harper immediately come to mind.   The hype around Bryce Harper immediately come to mind.  Harper probably would have been a 1st rounder even at 16. 

[RZNJ]

2 minutes ago, Just Regular said:

I believe Elias gave out a quote around time of Povich-McDermott-Johnson acquisitions he liked seeing how Arms fared on the calendar of pro ball.

I am guessing the Bats/Arms spend by MLB Clubs on 16-year-olds is probably nowhere near 50/50.     I've heard of Bryce Harper as a high school sophomore but don't think if I've heard of the Kerry Wood or Josh Beckett type guys that early.     I heard of Nick Bitsko lighting up guns at a young age his draft year, but he hurt himself too.

There's more information than ever on the art of growing Cy Young candidates, and it feels possible that if you want to do what Jacob deGrom did when you are 30, maybe in part you need to chill out while your body matures.      Its why our regime having the DL-Grayson pair will be interesting baseball craft to watch unfold.

Verlander, Keyshawn, and Scherzer didn’t chill out when they were young and have all been more durable than Degrom.   I’m not sure there’s a secret sauce.   Probably a lot of luck and who has good mechanics and strong ligaments.

[RZNJ]

3 minutes ago, btdart20 said:

Lots of 16 y/o are on scouting radars but I doubt they are projected on current draft boards because it's exercise just for fun.  So how high they are projected is anybody's guess. And if drafting 16 y/o's in the US was legal, I'm sure some would actually be drafted even with the additional growth risks.   The hype around Druw Jones and Bryce Harper immediately come to mind.   The hype around Bryce Harper immediately come to mind.  Harper probably would have been a 1st rounder even at 16. 

Some guy had him ranked #4 in the class but apparently he would have graduated at 19 in the 2025 class.

[Moose Milligan]

Good.  Keep signing them.

I'm not even excited about the 2 million kid.  IIRC, Ronald Acuna was signed for like 100k.  The fact that we're getting these guys is great.

[Just Regular]

3 hours ago, RZNJ said:

Verlander, Keyshawn, and Scherzer didn’t chill out when they were young and have all been more durable than Degrom.   I’m not sure there’s a secret sauce.   Probably a lot of luck and who has good mechanics and strong ligaments.

For sure - neither did Gooden, Fernandez, etc.     MLB Clubs didn't keep Scherzer or Verlander out of NCAA though, and Verlander played small school.     I don't know if ODU getting Verlander was like Navy getting David Robinson or anything, or whether by 16 he would have shown enough to pull a Big Bonus.

No question Hall of Famers are survivors (and Dylan Bundy is not!).    I just hope Grayson isn't being smothered too much the next few years in case he can do what Roger Clemens did.

Edited January 11, 2023 by Just Regular

[Jagwar]

30 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Of course they will.  They’ve been signing them every year.   It takes time but Delosantos, Chace , Rangel, Deivy Cruz, were all up in Delmarva last year.

Of course they have. But none of those names have stats that really jump off the page for me, perhaps they can still develop. I was only stating that I would like to see the O's target pitchers in the international market, unlike their M.O. in the amateur draft.  

[RZNJ]

12 minutes ago, Jagwar said:

Of course they have. But none of those names have stats that really jump off the page for me, perhaps they can still develop. I was only stating that I would like to see the O's target pitchers in the international market, unlike their M.O. in the amateur draft.  

I think you’ll find very few guys who jumped off the page at 18 and 19, which Chace, Rangel, and Cruz were last year.  I just looked up Alcantara, Cabrera, and Lopez of the Marlins.   None looked like anything special, statistically, until 20 or 21.