Well, it looks as if that, barring anything happening in the evening, Kristian Trompiz will be the Astros' significant acquisition on this first day of the international signing period. Castillo still tops my wish list. For a real wild card, keep an eye on Luiz Gohora, a 15-year-old Brazilian (turns 16 on July 31).
One of those home countries in that list of 20 is not like the others. Brazil hasn't traditionally been a hotbed of baseball talent, but there's potential there to be sure.
In addition to Trompiz, the Astros signed Luis Payano, an outfielder, and a catcher, Victor Tavarez. Climbing Tal's Hill
Have the Astros gotten anything at the ML level out of the international markets since the Hunsicker era? It seems like no one from the DSL/VSL teams ever actually make it over here. Hell we don't even have a VSL team any more.
Little bit of a loaded question there as Hunsicker was here until 2004. Anyone signed in 2005 would be barely turning 24 at this time. So you are basically talking about three years from 2005-2007, because anyone after that would have to be considered way too young to have been expected to be contributing yet.
Well, the guy that I would have liked is off the market. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>July2 Venezuelan LH pitcher Jose Castillo sign with <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%2523Bluejays">#Bluejays</a> $800K</p>— Enrique Rojas/ESPN (@Enrique_Rojas1) <a href="https://twitter.com/Enrique_Rojas1/status/220535121474891777" data-datetime="2012-07-04T15:10:44+00:00">July 4, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I think this might have fit in the Minor League thread, but it would've gotten lost eventually. Brian McTaggart: Oz Ocampo ramping up Astros' international efforts Ocampo was hired on August 31 as the new director of international scouting, replacing Felix Francisco. He'll be heading out on a trip across Central America, Curacao, and Colombia soon, and though it's probably unlikely, we could be hearing about some signings, or at least some guys that have caught his eye. Remember, the Astros still have a "majority" of their bonus pool for the 2012-13 signing period remaining, and they will have the most in their pool for the 2013-14 period, by virtue of having the worst record in the league. Here is the 2013 international class for the Astros so far: OF Luis Payano C Victor Tavarez SS Kristian Trompiz On Payano: On Trompiz: On Tavarez: RHP Joselo Pinales LHP Junior Garcia C Oliver Toribio 1B Connor MacDonald According to the article, he'll be finishing school before reporting to the Astros. He's already 6'5" at 16/17 years old! Bonuses: Payano: reportedly $500K Trompiz: $300K Garcia: $200K Pinales: $70K Toribio: $33K Tavarez and MacDonald: Not known All of the Latin players will most likely be headed off to the Academy to play the 2013 season. Payano should bring a spark to an anemic lineup.
The last day to spend 2012-13 international pool money is Saturday, June 15. The Astros, like all of the league, had a bonus pool of over a little over 3 million to spend (2.9 million pool plus the exempted 50k signings). Information on bonuses for international players can be hard to come by, but it looks like the Astros still have a significant portion of their pool still available. Teams can't roll over left over pool money, so it's almost use it or lose it. Given the astros rebuild, I was a little surprised they weren't more active in the market last year. Not sure what's still out there, but it wouldn't surprise me to see a few last minute signings in the next few days.
