Chicago White Sox add 4 International free agents
On Thursday, the Chicago White Sox added four international free agents to the organization.
Those players are: Franklyn Reyes (outfielder), Brayant Nova, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Santo Basquez, all infielders.
In a release by the White Sox, General Manager Rick Hahn spoke about the signings:
"“We are extremely excited to add each of these four young men to the Chicago White Sox organization today,” said Hahn. “Thanks to Marco Paddy and the efforts of our international scouting staff across Latin America, we continue to add waves of very talented young players to our system. All of this success will ultimately pay off in Chicago in seasons to come.“We are very excited about all of these four players and our entire 2015 signing class,” Paddy said. “Not only are these young men impressive players on the baseball diamond with outstanding skills, but I have been incredibly impressed with them as individuals off the field as well. Each of these young men is a tribute to his family, and we are excited to have them begin their careers with the White Sox.”"
Two of the players on the list seem to have a lot of upside in Reyes and Tatis Jr., both who are 16 years old.
Reyes is ranked as the 27th overall International Prospect by Baseball America, while Tatis Jr. is the 27th International Prospect by MLB.com.
Ben Badler of Baseball America wrote this of Reyes:
"“He stands out for his raw power and arm strength, which are both plus tools, though he’s still learning to translate his right-handed power from batting practice into the game.”"
Tatis is 6-3, 185-pounds and Reyes weighs in at 6-4, 205 pounds, and is also the 30th ranked International Prospect by MLB.com.
Balder of Baseball America also wrote this of Tatis Jr.:
"“still growing into his body, so he’s still learning to keep his right-handed swing short and consistent, but he has big league bloodlines and a chance to grow into some power, with a gamer mentality. He has a good arm, likely ending up at third base or the outfield.”"
The White Sox signed the most International Prospects Thursday in the AL Central, with the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers each signing three, the Kansas City Royals signing two and the Minnesota Twins with one signee.
Never seeing any of these players play in an actual game I can’t say a whole lot on these players, but being that Tatis Jr.’s father played 11 seasons in the majors, and at a quality level, the hope is he picked up some of that skill and professionalism from his father.
Hopefully one or two of these four players can eventually play their way up to the MLB level, but that is most likely years away. It will be very interesting to see how these players work their way through the White Sox organization, and where they will eventually go from here.
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