The Atlanta Braves took another step forward in their rebuilding process by signing the consensus number one international prospect, infielder Kevin Maitan from Venezuela, for $4.25 million, a record signing bonus for Atlanta.
With Braves fans awaiting Maitan’s signing for almost two years, there are things they should understand about Atlanta’s new talent.
Maitan Is a Once-in-a-Generation Talent
People constantly await the next big thing in baseball. Over the past two years, Kevin Maitan held that title.
Kiley McDaniel wrote an article for FanGraphs describing Maitan as a “franchise” and “once-in-a-decade” talent when he was only fourteen. Now a sixteen-year-old who just signed his first Major League deal, Maitan still warrants those labels. His approach at the plate compares to Miguel Cabrera. His 6’2″, 175 pound frame and ability to hit for power as a switch-hitter bring back memories of Chipper Jones. He has the potential to become an All-Star talent in the majors.
More importantly, he just looks like a baseball player. At sixteen. Maitan is without a doubt the best international prospect for 2016, and if he had been eligible to be selected in this year’s first-year amateur draft, he would’ve been one of the first bats taken.
The Nationals Tried to Sign Him At the Last Minute
As the rumors go, Atlanta has had a deal in place for Maitan since early 2015. However they weren’t the only team that had conversations with him, even up to July 2, when international signings began. According to SB Nation’s Talking Chop, the Washington Nationals offered him a deal worth $7 million for his services. Some may wonder why Maitan wouldn’t take a deal worth almost $3 million more to sign with Washington. To explain that requires an understanding of how the international free agent market works.
A Shadow Market for Players
The international market is quite chaotic and frantic. It is run by handshake agreements and shadow deals made by “middle men” between the players and the organizations. Their relationships with certain teams hold great importance in getting their players signed. In Maitan’s case, his “middle man” is his trainer, Henderson Martinez.
Martinez has been showcasing Maitan since he was thirteen, and has dealt with major league teams, especially Atlanta, on Maitan’s behalf on a recurring basis since then. Atlanta had one of the supposed handshake agreements with him since early 2015. If Martinez broke that agreement, he would risk major ramifications. The Braves would never deal with him or his players again, and he would receive a reputation with other teams as someone whose word can’t be relied upon.
Now, it’s hard to imagine a sixteen-year old kid turning down a $7 million offer, yet Maitan has been set on being an Atlanta Brave for a while now. His family, friends, and other influential people in his life enjoy the idea of him being associated with the Braves organization and building a long-term relationship with the team.
He Is Already a Top-Ten Braves Prospect
When analyzing where Maitan will be placed in the Braves farm system rankings, he firmly sticks in the top ten, but not anywhere higher. Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies, and Austin Riley all should rank higher than him as hitters, if only because of the sheer volume of professional games played. The same goes for pitchers Sean Newcomb, Kolby Allard, and Touki Toussaint.
Some Braves fans are going to be disappointed in his placement when the midseason farm system player rankings arrive. Just remember he’s a sixteen-year old, with no professional experience, who ranks in the top ten of arguably the best system in the majors. After he gets a full professional season under his belt, he will skyrocket not only the Braves rankings, but the MLB prospect rankings. With that being said…
Don’t Expect Maitan to Reach the Majors Anytime Soon
With the mantle of being a once-in-a-generation talent, most fans expect Maitan to rise up the minor league ranks and appear in the majors before he turns nineteen. However, he isn’t going to wear a Braves uniform until 2017, starting in the Gulf Coast League, with a possible promotion to Single-A Rome if his stats blow the organization away. If he reaches Double-A Mississippi in 2018 and shines there, there could be a possible promotion to the majors in 2019. However for that to happen, everything would have to go better than expected.
Braves GM John Coppolella didn’t helping matters with his recent interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
I think when you look at Andruw Jones hit two home runs in the World Series at age (19), (Maitan) is 16. I’m not saying (he’s) going to hit two home runs in the 2018 World Series, but we think that (he’s) a special talent that won’t take six or seven years. (He) could be here fairly quickly and could have a big impact on the Braves.”
Coppolella has a fair point. Jones was nineteen when he broke the record for youngest player to hit a home run in the World Series. Cabrera, one of Maitan’s comps, won a World Championship with the Marlins at twenty. The Los Angeles Dodgers witnessed Julio Urias make his ML debut for a contending team at nineteen, and Maitan has the skills that Urias had at sixteen.
Fans should ease up on their expectations for Maitan and be patient. Scouts who think less of him than others still see him as a really good player, and his potential charts him as a perennial All-Star. He is one of the biggest pieces in Atlanta’s chain of prospects acquired over the past eighteen months.
Sources: FanGraphs, Baseball America, SB Nation’s Talking Chop, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Main Photo:
ATLANTA, GA – MAY 30: A general view of TurnerField as the Atlanta Braves honor Memorial Day against the San Francisco Giants at Turner Field on May 30, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
