Thursday, July 3, 2014

Foreign players: Ready set, sign!

Wednesday was the first day the 2014 class of non-draft eligible players could sign, and there was quite the rush.

The Twins had two fairly prominent signings:

  • Huascar Ynoa, a right-handed pitcher from the Dominican Republic who Baseball America ranked as the No. 14 prospect in the class and 
  • Jean Carlos Arias, left-handed hitting outfielder, also of the Dominican Republic.

They are both 16 years old, so there's no point in expecting anything immediate out of either. 

That's the general rule with the non-draft signings. They are typically very young and very raw.

Ynoa has an interesting background. His brother Michael holds the record for largest bonus given an undrafted free agent; Michael Ynoa hasn't come close to the majors yet, but the Oakland A's put him on their 40-man roster to keep him from getting snatched up in the Rule 5 draft. He has, for the second straight season, an ERA above 7.5 in high A ball. 

We can guess the Twins hope little brother can do better than that.



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