The Importance of Latin America in the Yankee System

Baseball America recently released a list of the top spending teams for international free agents in 2010, as well as a list of the top individual bonuses given out.  On the team list, the Yankees come in at #2 with 5.27 million spent on international free agents, with the Mariners at 6.47 million occupying the top spot.  Interestingly enough, looking at the individual list, the Yankees’ top signing of 2010, Dominican outfielder Wilmer romero, comes in at #19 on the top bonus list with a $656,500 bonus.  Also on the list are Dominican shortstop Christopher Tamarez at #20 with a $650,000, (now) 19 year-old Dominican righty Jose Rafael DePaula at #26 with a $500,000 bonus, and Dominican righty Eduardo Rivera at #30 with a $475,000 bonus.  Despite the lack of a million dollar signing like Gary Sanchez or Jesus Montero as in previous years, the Yankees still spent significantly in Latin America in 2010.

While the Yankees did not nab any of the top names like Adonys Cardona (Blue Jays), Luis Heredia (Pirates), or Carlos Martinez (neé Matias, Cardinals), I still have hope that this will be a successful class for the Yankees.   It is interesting to see teams such as Toronto, Pittsburgh, and Houston shelling out big bonuses for prospects this year, but the bonus size doesn’t necessarily mean that they got the best player.  Teams such as the Yankees, Braves, Rangers, and Mariners that frequently invest in international free agents likely have better scouting networks set up and better relationships with buscones (the rough equivalent of agents).  As such, they are often able to get good prospects at a relative discount, while teams without much of a presence in the market often overspend to make a splash.

While much time and ink is devoted to the Yankees’ efforts to identify falling players in the draft and signing them to overslot bonuses, it is worthy of note that Latin America has played a significant role in the resurgence of the Yankee farm.  Looking at EJ’s top 30 prospects list, we can see that the system’s top 3 prospects (Montero, Banuelos, Gary Sanchez) all came from Latin America (and 2 of the 3 signed million+ dollar bonuses, whereas Banuelos was signed in a package deal with Alfredo Aceves and two others).  In addition to the top 3, Latin prospects make up 5 of the top 10, and 7 of the top 20 prospects in the Yankee system.  Given the success of Sanchez, Banuelos, Montero, and others in the system, it is no wonder that the Yankees have continued to keep the talent pipeline flowing.  Of course, the bust rate with these prospects is pretty high, but nonetheless, it will be exciting to follow them, as you never know who the next Montero or Banuelos will be.