Dodgers, Giants land top international prospects on bonus day
They may not be household names just yet, but Diego Cartaya and Marco Luciano - as well as a couple hundred others - could rise through the MLB prospect ranks fairly quickly.
The Los Angeles Dodgers officially signed Cartaya on Monday, the beginning of the international signing period. The catcher is ranked as the top overall international prospect by MLB Pipeline, with the 16-year-old's hitting, fielding, and arm receiving grades of 60.
The Dodgers officially signed Venezuelan catcher Diego Cartaya, the #1 rated International prospect for 2018 according to https://t.co/rPIVUzV15c. pic.twitter.com/1eYYjZwhd9
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 2, 2018
Ranked right after Cartaya is Dominican shortstop Luciano, who was signed by the San Francisco Giants. According to Baseball America, Luciano received a signing bonus of $2.6 million, second most on the day.
Welcome to the #SFGiants Family, Marco Luciano.
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) July 2, 2018
SS and 6’3” power hitter, Luciano is from the Dominican Republic and ranked as the #2 prospect in this year’s class. pic.twitter.com/FPRm1pI1mm
The largest announced signing bonus went to Dominican shortstop Orelvis Martinez, who received $3.6 million from the Toronto Blue Jays. Not all bonus figures are available, and Baseball America announced they will not be publishing any amounts for Venezuelan players due to requests from the families.
All agreements are pending physicals and some prospects were not eligible to be signed due to being under 16 years of age. The chart below shows where the top 20 international prospects landed.
| Rank | Name | Pos | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diego Cartaya | C | Dodgers |
| 2 | Marco Luciano | SS | Giants |
| 3 | Misael Urbina | OF | Twins |
| 4 | Orelvis Martinez | SS | Blue Jays |
| 5 | Richard Gallardo | RHP | Cubs |
| 6 | Gabriel Rodriguez | SS | Indians |
| 7 | Noelvi Marte | SS | Mariners |
| 8 | Starlyn Castillo | RHP | Phillies |
| 9 | Osiel Rodriguez | RHP | Yankees |
| 10 | Kevin Alcantara | OF | Unsigned (age) |
| 11 | Antonio Gomez | C | Yankees |
| 12 | Junior Sanquintin | SS | Indians |
| 13 | Francisco Alvarez | C | Mets |
| 14 | Sandy Gaston | RHP | Unsigned |
| 15 | Jose De La Cruz | OF | Tigers |
| 16 | Alvin Guzman | OF | Diamondbacks |
| 17 | Jose Lopez | OF | Cubs |
| 18 | Eduarqi Fernandez | OF | Brewers |
| 19 | Adinso Reyes | SS | Tigers |
| 20 | Eduardo Garcia | SS | Unsigned (age) |