Houston signed nine position players and six pitchers
HOUSTON, TX – The Houston Astros have agreed to terms on contracts with 15 international free agents, including 12 players from the Dominican Republic and three from Cuba. The announcement was made by Astros Senior Director of Player Evaluation Charles Cook. Terms of the contracts were not disclosed.
“We are excited to welcome several international prospects to our organization as the 2021-2022 signing period opens,” said Cook. “None of our acquisitions would be possible without the support of Jim Crane and our ownership group’s commitment to investing in international talent. Each international signing is special as it represents the culmination of a collaborative process with contributions coming not only from our International Scouting department but also from Player Development, Sport Science, and Sports Medicine & Performance. We look forward to supporting this class of players as they begin their professional journey in our player development system.”
The current MLB International signing period, which began today, runs from January 15 through December 15, 2022.
Among today’s signings is outfielder Dominican Luis Báez, who is ranked by Baseball America as the No. 27 prospect in this year’s international signing class.
“Luis Báez projects to be an everyday right fielder with a special bat, ” said Dominican Republic Scouting Supervisor Alfredo Ulloa. “Báez has a solid and durable build with above average strength for his age, which translates into present power. He projects to hit in the middle of the order with HR/RBI production and shows four solid tools on the 20-80 scouting scale. Luis has continued to develop his bat and defensive abilities and we are excited to add him to the organization.”
Below is the full list of international free agents who were signed by the Astros today:
Name Hometown Age Pos HT WT B/T
José Arias San Cristóbal, DR 17 OF 5-10 170 R/R
Luis Báez Bani, DR 18 OF 6-1 205 R/R
Henry Bibieca San Cristóbal, DR 19 RHP 6-1 176 R/R
Samuel Capellán Santo Domingo Este, DR 17 IF 5-11 155 R/R
Áxell De Paula Yamasa, DR 17 OF 5-10 178 R/R
Carlos Espinosa Camagüey, Cuba 20 RHP 6-2 188 R/R
Kenni Gómez Granma, Cuba 16 OF 5-11 185 L/R
Edwin González San Francisco de Macorís, DR 17 RHP 6-2 153 R/R
Alberto Hernández Isla de Juventud, Cuba 17 IF 6-0 169 R/R
Waner Luciano Santo Domingo, DR 17 IF 6-1 170 R/R
Marco Marcelino Dajabón, DR 17 OF 5-9 191 R/R
Sandy Mejía Monte Plata, DR 18 RHP 6-0 160 R/R
Michael Pérez Santiago de los Caballeros, DR 17 RHP 6-4 243 R/R
Rafael Ramírez Azua, DR 17 IF 6-1 185 R/R
Raimy Rodríguez Puerto Plata, DR 16 RHP 6-1 185 R/R
