Within Major League Baseball’s current international signing environment, aspiring ballplayers often get just one shot to impress Major League scouts — and it comes early. The competition for Latin American talent has become so cutthroat that teams have been known to commit to informal deals with kids several years before they reach their age-16 signing eligibility, often upon the assessment of a single tryout.
As MLB continues discussions with the MLB Players Association about an International Draft aimed at eliminating the early signings and improving transparency in the Latin American player market, MLB has begun preparations on initiatives that would give international players a greater opportunity to develop and showcase their skills and teams a better opportunity to assess talent.
One such example would be a free league in the Dominican Republic, which would allow players access to be scouted during extended playing opportunities (six months of each year) in their regions. MLB would undertake or support similar initiatives in other major baseball countries (it has already begun supporting multiple leagues operated by trainers and former players in Venezuela), as well as increase its presence in traditionally smaller markets.
“The ability to scout a player in 50 or 60 games in a year is incredibly important to creating a transparent market,” said Omar Minaya, the former Mets and Expos general manager and current amateur scouting consultant for MLB. “But it’s great for the kids, too, to have time to develop amidst healthy competition. Older players are going to have a lot more opportunity to get significant playing time in front of clubs, and younger kids will not have the pressure associated with individual make-or-break tryouts.”
The entire subject of the International Draft, which was temporarily tabled when the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was ratified in March, remains open for discussion until July 25.
By that date, a final decision…