Down on the Farm: International Signings

The Giants made another international signing yesterday according to BA. Adalberto Mejia, LHP signed for a bonus of $350 K. He's a 17 year old with nice size at 6'3", 190 lbs. BA reports that that he has a "loose arm" with a fastball that sits at 87-90 MPH and touches 92. He has advance feel for a changeup and a slurvy breaking ball that needs to be tightened up. The signing signals that the Giants are still active players in the international market as it is the second signing this calender year after hard throwing RHP Simon Mercedes was signed for $400 K.

The Giants were relatively quiet on the international front in 2010 although not completely inactive. They were expected to be bidders for several highly ranked prospects when the signing period opened last summer, but then pulled back after news of wholesale failings of drug tests conducted by MLB. They ended up signing 17 year old Venezuelan OF Carlos Cartagena for $300 K. I had not heard of the Cartegena signing until BA's international signing summary came out recently. He has nice size for an OF at 6'2", 185 lbs. He reportedly can drive the ball to the opposite field with occasional pull power, but can be inconsistent at the plate as you might expect from a 17 year old.

Prior to the July 2 opening of the signing period, the Giants had already picked up Reiner Roibal out of Cuba for $425 K in April, RHP Joan Gregorio in March and RHP Luis Angeles for $55 K in February. Gregorio is a skinny 6'7" but has put on some weight. He throws a low 90's fastball on a downhill plane with excellent control and repeatabiltiy for such a tall pitcher. Angeles is smaller. He can get it up to 91 MPH but is more of a 4 pitch/control artist. In 2009, the Giants also signed a couple of international prospects in the mid 6 figure bonus range, OF Leonardo Fuentes and RHP Marvin Barrios.

Since the Rafael Rodriguez signing, the Giants have seemed to employ a strategy of signing multiple players in the mid 6 figure range rather than single 7 figure splashes. This may have been dictated more by the quality of the market and the PED scandal of last summer than by a purposeful strategy, but I like it nonetheless. The Giants haven't been as active in the international market as the perennial big players like the Yankees, Rangers, etc, but they have maintained a steady infusion of talent to supplement their recent success in the draft.

It is also encouraging that the Giants are apparently still willing to spend money on the international market despite a payroll boost at the MLB level this offseason. It looks like the days of cannibalizing the draft and scouting to boost the MLB payroll are ancient history under the Bill Neukom ownership regime.