The Chicago Cubs, under Theo Epstein’s watch, have always done very well in the international market. Well, at least when they had money to spend. This year was no different, and if you have paid attention, the Cubs are building one hell of a young pitching core in the minor leagues.
The most memorable international signings were Eloy Jimenez and Gleyber Torres. Torres was a sure-fire, can’t miss prospect and Jimenez had a power profile to match anyone in the majors. But the team had also signed Jorge Soler from the international market and budding pitcher, Adbert Alzolay. But the next class is the one being compared to that Gleyber and Eloy class.
2018 International Signees
Let’s remember, and as MLB.com points out,Consider this: Five of the top six prospects in the game — Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., Blue Jays outfielder Vladimir Guerrero Jr., White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez, Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. and Nationals outfielder Victor Robles — were all signed during the international signing period. So while there are a ton of talented players that come out of the normal MLB Draft, the international player pool has been the source of some of the game’s best talent over the course of the past 30 years.
Here are the Cubs signings, their ratings, and bonus money.
José Lopez, OF, Dominican Republic (age 16) – $1.5 million bonus (BA rank: 27, FG rank: 27, MLB.com rank: 17)
Richard Gallardo, RHP, Venezuela (age 16) – $1 million (BA rank: 6, FG rank: 6, MLB.com rank: 5)
Joel Machado, LHP, Venezuela (age 16) – $850,000 (BA rank: 46, FG rank: 35, MLB.com rank: 28)
Rafael Morel, SS, Dominican Republic (age 16) – $850,000 (BA rank: 47)
Yohendrick Pinango, OF, Dominican Republic (age 16) – $400,000
Richard Gallardo, RHP, Venezuela
The Cubs were able to land the top-rated international pitcher in Venezuela’s Richard Gallardo. He is a 16-year-old right-handed pitcher that has been clocked at 94-MPH and regularly sits around 90-92. Cubs director of international scouting and special assistant to Theo and Jed, Louie Eljaua mentions, “it’s not just the stuff. It’s not just the velocity. He gets really good movement on his fastball, plus movement. A lot of swing and misses on all three pitches. The curveball is a swing-and-miss curveball. The changeup is a plus pitch,” Eljaua continued. “We feel he’s a leader. He’s a really good athlete. He’s a strong kid. He’s physical. We think he’s going to be a durable guy who’s going to be able to sustain the innings (with) the feel for his stuff and presence. For a 16-year-old kid, he’s polished.
“The stuff combined with the pitch-ability combined with the presence combined with the know-how and the swing-and-miss stuff – it’s everything you look for. And hopefully, it will continue to progress (the way it) has since we started scouting him. The upside, for us, is a top-of-the-rotation guy. We’ll see where it ends up.”
While TINSTAAPP (there is no such thing as a pitching prospect), it appears that the Cubs are 100% convinced that Gallardo is the real deal. A stud pitcher with the top-of-the-rotation ability is hard to come by, and if the Cubs got it with Gallardo, then that alone is a steal in this year’s international signing period. He won’t grace the Wrigley Field mound for some time, he is only 16 after all, but when he does it sounds like he will be well worth the wait.
Joel Machado, LHP, Venezuela
Here’s a guy that has a lot of Jose Quintana in him, well at least according to Eljaua. He has been able to clock up his heater to 91-MPH and the Cubs believe he will live in the 92-95 range once his 16-year-old body fills out.
Eljaua had this to say about Machado, “Strike-thrower. Can paint both corners of the plate. Changes speeds very well. The curveball is a pitch we see as above-average. Another guy who’s a really good athlete.”
Machado is a 6-foot, 165-pound left-hander with three plus pitches. Since the Cubs began scouting him he has grown a couple of inches and has added 20 pounds. He will likely need to add another 20 pounds (or more) before advancing through the minor league system. He isn’t as polished as Gallardo, but he has middle-of-the-rotation ability.
José Lopez, OF, Dominican
Jose is a centerfielder with the tools to rove the centerfield grass at the professional level. He will develop into a plus power guy, should also develop a plus hit tool. He has speed on the paths, and while most evaluators believe he will have some work to do, his mechanics will translate into a good everyday centerfielder.
I don’t know why, but he reminds me of Corey Paterson. Now you might immediately balk at this and mention Corey never amounted to much, some of that was due to his knee injury and never really recovering. If Jose can develop into a Corey-like player, that would be a win. If he develops into a player that can man centerfield every day for a Major League ballclub – that’s a huge get.
Cubs signed two of the top five pitchers on the international market, Gallardo being the top (rated number 5 overall). Lopez has the ability to be an everyday centerfielder, Rafael Morel and Yohendrick Pinango also have speed and can develop into solid players one day.
What I like about this year’s signings is, each of them has a legit shot of being on an MLB roster someday. While yes, there’s the whole TINSTAAPP thing, and even position players are no sure thing, especially at 16 years old, we should trust Theo and Jed and crew with their international signings. We do have several years before we know the real impact of this class, but I’m willing to bet they’ll help rush in the next era of Cubs baseball.
Credits are given to The Athletic, MLB.com, CBS Sports, North Side Baseball
