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Who knows what these kids are going to turn into because that’s what they are, kids, but it’s always interesting to keep track of the signings to see how they progress not only in the Chicago Cubs organization, but all over MLB too.
The latest signing period has netted the Cubs with three of the top-30 ranked international free agents and two more ranked outside of the top-30.
According to industry sources, the Cubs agreed to deals with right-handed pitcher Richard Gallardo, who ranks No. 5 on MLB.com’s Top 30 International Prospects list, for $1 million, outfielder Jose Lopez (No. 17), for $1.5 million, and left-handed pitcher Joel Machado (No. 28) for $850,000.
The club also agreed to $850,000 deal with shortstop Rafael Morel of the Dominican Republic and outfielder Yohendrick Pinango of Venezuela for $400,000.
Here’s a quick scouting report on each of the top-30 players.
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Scouting grades: Fastball: 65 | Curve: 50 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 60
The best pitching prospect out of Venezuela and the top hurler overall in this year’s class, Gallardo is smart and fearless on the mound. Evaluators believe he can be a top-of-the-rotation type of pitcher if he stays healthy and continues to develop his tools at a normal pace. He projects to have average or above-average tools across the board and he’s already considered advanced for his age.
Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 55 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50
At the plate, the left-handed hitter has a small hitch but otherwise boasts a free and easy swing. The ball flies off of Lopez’s bat and he has shown the potential for more power in the future. He’s not as physical as some of the other top prospects, but he makes hard contact to all fields. The belief is that Lopez will be able to generate more power once he signs with a big league team and works on his mechanics in a club’s academy on a daily basis. Lopez has a chance to stay in center field and hit in the middle of the lineup one day.
Lopez is already a plus runner — he’s been clocked at 6.4 seconds in the 60-yard run — and evaluators believe the tool will help carry him through the Minor League system.
Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curve: 50 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 50 | Overall: 55
Machado is an athletic, projectable left-handed pitcher with good arm action and lots of room to grow.
He made himself into a more appealing prospect after growing a couple of inches in height and adding close to 20 pounds while also increasing the velocity of his fastball from the 85-87 mph range to 89-90 in the last year. The teenager’s repertoire also features a changeup at 80-81 mph and a curveball that usually hovers in the 70-mph range. Both pitches are projected to be average or above average with the change ahead of the breaking ball right now.
The Cubs were one of eight teams to sign at least two of the top-30 international free agents.
Patrick Mooney of The Athletic got the inside scoop from Louie Eljaua, the director of international scouting and a special assistant to Cubs executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer.
Via The Athletic.
“We liked quite a few players in this class,” Eljaua said. “In our opinion, we got commitments from the top right-handed pitcher — arguably the best pitcher on the market — and probably the best left-handed pitcher in Machado.
Make sure to give Mooney’s piece a read, as Eljaua goes more in-depth with the current class of IFA and gives background on the scouting process of teenagers in Latin America.
It’ll be at least 3-4 years before we see any of these names are hyped up, but the obvious hope is that at least one becomes the next Gleyber Torres, Eloy Jiménez or Willson Contreras.
