I hope Click signs a decent utilitarian OF then. I dont like Tucker in right and with Yordan coming off injury, hed probably need to split time with Brantley(if he resigns) at DH.
Article (theathletic.com/2309057/2021/01/12/pedro-leon-high-expectations-and-the-astros-record-on-big-bonus-prospects/?source=emp_shared_article) in the Athletic about Pedro Leon. Nothing new on him, but a nice rundown of notable international signings: • Dominican outfielder Ronny Rafael, $1.5 million in 2014-15 — didn’t make it out of the rookie-level Gulf Coast League, was released in May 2018 • Venezuelan right-hander Franklin Perez, $1 million in 2014-15 — developed into a Top-100 industry prospect and was the centerpiece of the prospect package the Astros sent to the Tigers for Justin Verlander on Aug. 31, 2017, has been set back by injuries and has yet to debut • Venezuelan shortstop Miguelangel Sierra, $1 million in 2014-15 — reached High A in 2019, where he had a .622 OPS and struck out in 35.4 percent of his plate appearances • Dominican outfielder Gilberto Celestino, $2.25 million in 2015-16 — traded to the Twins as part of the Ryan Pressly deal in July 2018, reached High A at the end of 2019 • Cuban left-hander Cionel Pérez, $2 million in 2016-17 (a $4 million investment when accounting for the overage tax for exceeding the bonus pool) — has amounted to a depth reliever through his age-24 season • Cuban right-hander Elián Rodriguez, $1.9 million in 2016-17 (a $3.8 million investment when accounting for the tax) — hasn’t made it out of the Gulf Coast League, where his numbers have been terrible, and he’ll be 24 in March • Cuban shortstop Aníbal Sierra, $1.5 million in 2016-17 — had a .575 OPS between Double A and Triple A in 2019 and will be 27 in February • Dominican shortstop Freudis Nova, $1.2 million in 2016-17 — still regarded as a prospect but has lost some of his luster because of a lack of offensive development • Venezuelan shortstop Yorbin Ceuta, $1 million in 2016-17 — hasn’t made it out of rookie ball • Dominican left-hander Framber Valdez — $10,000 at age 21 • Dominican right-hander Cristian Javier — $10,000 at age 17 (about a week from turning 18) • Dominican right-hander Enoli Paredes — $10,000 at age 19 • Venezuelan right-hander Luis Garcia — $20,000 at age 20 • Dominican right-hander Jorge Guzmán (Brian McCann trade) — $22,500 at age 18 • Dominican right-hander Jorge Alcalá (Ryan Pressly trade) — $10,000 at age 19 • Dominican right-hander Héctor Pérez (Roberto Osuna trade) — $45,000 at age 18
Dominican pitchers that sign with the Astros for $10,000 at an odd age and make it to majors without being traded are awesome.
Clearly Luhnow would be signing as many Dominican pitchers for $10,000 as possible, exploiting a market inefficiency.
Yep, sign 10 for 10,000 a piece and two or 3 make the majors or are added in trades to add pieces to win a WS like the Verlander trade. This is what a genius level GM does. What's Click done? Bought a couple of MLB lotto tickets.
There should be a bin near international signing checkout, where you can grab a handful of $10,000 Dominican pitchers, along with your lotto scratch offs.
Nailing the 10k signings while whiffing on the big ticket guys is like being great at homework and failing on the test. I don't think there's really any reason to believe that the random pitchers will stop under Click, and if they could do a better job of identifying potential stars, they'll be in good shape. Leon is his first chance to show he can get that part right, so let's see what he can do. He has to be better than Anibal Sierra.
I don’t think that’s much different than other teams. International signees are notoriously hard to project, although I think teams are getting better. I also think it’s worth noting that the two people likely most responsible for evaluating and signing all those guys (Ocampo and Luhnow) are gone. Finally, the full story hasn’t been written for most of those big money signees. Yes, Rafael and Anibal Sierra were busts. But Celestino, Franklin Perez, Nova, and Cionel Perez are all still prospects who could very well pan out. I am not counting on Leon being a star OF in MLB in the next 10 months, but it’s reasonable to consider him a fringe Top 100 prospect who represents one of the highest upsides in Houston’s system.
Anibal Sierra was never really considered a good prospect, and his large bonus was really the only reason anyone paid attention to him. He was never ranked on lists of top international signees. Same goes for Elian Rodriguez. Rafael, Franklin Perez, Celestino, Cionel Perez, Miguelangel Sierra, Nova, and Dauri Lorenzo were the only international signees Luhnow signed from the MLB Top 30 lists. Yorbin Cueta was fairly highly regarded but not in the Top 30. Of those, only Rafael can be listed as a finalized bust.
Is that the same dude who coordinated the Harden and Westbrook deals? (Insert Time is a Flat Circle.gif)
Today’s the day Leon signs. Honestly, probably the most excited I’ve been about an INTL FA signing in a long time due to his age, frame, and success in the Cuban League. I have a good feeling about this.
The fact that both Click and the previous regime both seem to have him highly rated makes me optimistic. That’s countered a bit by his body type but overall I think he’s probably the best position player prospect Houston has had since Yordan/Tucker.
The Astros got information on him that other teams did not. They have accurate measures on everything from bat speed, swing angles, torque and ball speed off the bat, they have exact video of his response in the box, his hips, legs, feet...... they have his speed from out of the box, his speed and when he picks up fly balls in the outfield, his arm velocity....... Click and Putila and Gelles all had him equipped with special equipment and then he was signed for a number that raised a lot of eyebrows right after the work out ended........ his agent texted all the teams going to see him at his first public show case that he was no longer available. I am not concerned about his body type because he produces a lot of power and has very strong and quick wrists. The criticism of the body type is usually based on an inability to generate enough power to drive the ball. He also supposedly isn't like other Cubans, he is very careful about what he eats.
