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Last week on January 15th the Cubs made some moves signing international free agents. Despite the lockout taking place, the international signing period remained unaffected. An international player can sign with a Major League team between January 15th and December 15, 2022; if they are 16 years old.
The @Cubs have agreed to deals with SS Alexis Hernandez (No. 18) for $1.3 million and 3B Adan Sanchez (No. 43) for $1.5 million.
More on the team’s international signings: https://t.co/JArDLJ5P9q pic.twitter.com/540s9TNZu6
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) January 15, 2022
Cristian Hernandez
Cristian Hernandez was signed during the same international signing period last year and is the older brother of this year’s signee, Alexis Hernandez. The 17-year-old Shortstop signed a $3 million dollar deal on January 15, 2021. Cristian is currently the Cubs’ #3 ranked prospect according to MLB.com following a solid season with the Dominican Summer League Cubs. In 47 games at Shortstop, Cristian slashed .285/.398/.424 for a stellar OPS of .822. He added 5 home runs, 22 RBI, and showed speed stealing 21 bases on 24 attempts. Cristian has been compared to some great young shortstops in the game today, and likely helped lead Chicago to his younger brother Alexis.
The Cubs are targeting one of the top 2020-21 international prospects.
He's already getting comparisons to a young Alex Rodriguez or Manny Machado 👀
Meet Cristian Hernandez, who could be the next star shortstop prospect from the Dominican Republic ⬇️https://t.co/ccNp1UOekN pic.twitter.com/FnuJkcqyEw
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) June 24, 2020
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Alexis Hernandez
The younger brother Alexis was signed for $1.3 million and is currently the #18th ranked international prospect on MLB.com. It is still early to project how talented he will be, but early scouting has him playing shortstop.
A strong arm and good baseball IQ could see him shift to centerfield too. Like his brother, he has good speed but early projections show him as a better hitter. There is not much video of the young Dominican talent, but this one from MLB.com gives a little taste of what could be to come.
Adan Sanchez
Another international signee is a 16-year-old catcher from Panama, Adan Sanchez. Sanchez is the #43rd ranked international prospect and signed for $1.5 million. There is more video of Sanchez as a few years ago he played in the Little League World Series.
In 2017, Sanchez hit a 338 foot home run against South Korea in the U-12 World Baseball World Cup. A year later David Ross said, “Adan Sanchez is an absolute stud” and compared him to Xander Bogaerts as he called a home run against Canada in 2018.
Adan Sanchez clearly has the power you love from a catcher. Early scouting reports also grade his defense and throwing power positively. At 16 he has time to grow into a more complete player, but he will be a very exciting prospect to watch develop.
