On the first day to sign international prospects, the White Sox grabbed three of the top 40. The best prospect and biggest name in their international class is 16 year old outfielder Josue Guerrero. He is the nephew of Vladimir Guerrero.
The White Sox were busy on international signing day. They signed three of the top 40 international prospects per Baseball America. Guerrero, 16-year-OF Luis Mieses and 17 year OF Anderson Cosma were ranked 33, 36 and 37.
Guerrero received a $1.1 Million signing bonus, Mieses $428,000 and Cosma $450,000. Per Scott Merkin of WhiteSox.com, the other signed prospects are Outfielder Anthony Coronado; right-handed pitchers Jenderson Caraballo and Brayan Herrera; left-handed pitcher Hector Acosta; infielder Lenyn Sosa and catcher Kleyder Sanchez.
Guerrero, has been compared to his uncle. White Sox Special Assistant Marco Purdy said
"“He is a very similar player to his uncle at this same age in terms of his physical makeup, his body, his swing, his tools,”"
Guerrero and his family were excited about joining the White Sox organization.
Meet the Guerreros. New #WhiteSox prospect Josue Guerrero is nephew of Vladimir. He signed for $1.1M. @MLBPipeline pic.twitter.com/Qg5eBGfxeY
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) July 2, 2016
Talking about Mieses, Purdy said:
"“Luis is a very good, very athletic power outfielder who can really swing the bat,” Paddy said. “He is a natural hitter with a plus arm.”"
Baseball America has video on 33 of the top 50 prospects. Below are Guerrero, Mieses and Cosma.
Videos Courtesy Baseball America
This is a key year for the White Sox draft and international signings. Their farm system was rated 20th by Milb.com in March. The drafted players will average two to five years older than the internationally signed players.
The drafted players are obviously closer to being ready to contribute at the major league level. Some of the players will eventually advance to the White Sox and others will be used in trades to acquire veterans.
Last year’s top international signee Fernando Tatis jr. was traded with Erik Johnson to San Diego for James Shields. It’s hard to project how good Tatis will be, he’s only 17. Tatis’s professional career has gotten off to a good start with the Padres rookie team in the Arizona League.
Tatis is hitting .353 with one home run and four RBIs in his professional debut. The Padres have him playing third. He was originally signed as a shortstop by the White Sox. The Arizona White Sox have five shortstops on their roster.
Next: White Sox Prospects Experiencing Bad Luck
Shortstop prospect Amado Nunez is leading the AZL White Sox and is tied for second in the league with 10 RBIs in 39 at-bats. One of the White Sox top prospects, outfielder Adam Engel played for Arizona in 2014. One of his teammates was White Sox Shortstop Tim Anderson.