The Houston Astros signed nine international players on Monday, hoping to shore up their pipeline for the future. The Astros have prided themselves on their pipeline through the 2000s-2010s. Indeed, they used prospect pipeline players to kickstart their second championship in team history in 2022. While the off-season has been quiet, the Astros have been shoring up its future during MLB’s annual international signing period.
Astros Sign Nine International Players
A Depleted Pipeline
The Astros’ pipeline has been depleted over the past few seasons. These new signings will help shore up future seasons for the Astros. Following a few seasons of short-ended signings due to the 2017 scandal fallout, the Astros have a quiet rebuild underway. The prospects, all 20 years old or younger, join the Astros franchise from five countries.
At the beginning of the week, the Astros signed nine international prospects during the first day of the signing window. The team was busy from the get-go during the process.
Early Signing
Not listed among the nine international prospects was outfielder Anderson Paula. The Dominican-born Paula agreed to a deal earlier in the day, giving the team a jumpstart. The 17-year-old right-handed hitter was ranked the No. 49 international prospect in this year’s class by MLB.com.
Following the signing of Paula, the Astros agreed to terms with nine other international free agents. This includes five players from the Dominican Republic, two from Cuba, and a player each from Venezuela, Panama, and the United States. Details of the players’ contracts have yet to be revealed.
The #Astros signed nine international free agents Monday: pic.twitter.com/mbaA8giNTf
— Kenny Van Doren (@thevandalorian) January 15, 2024
Nine More Signings
The current Major League Baseball International signing period began on January 15 and continues through December 15 of this year. Among the early signings include two Cuban outfielders, Cesar Hernandez and Luis Rives. Rives is a 19-year-old switch hitter while Hernandez is a left-hander who is one year Rives’ senior.
The Astros also managed to pick up 17-year-old right-handed infielder Franchely Silverio from the Dominican Republic. Other Dominican players that the Astros picked up include right-handed pitchers Angel Peralta and Kevin Santana along with infielder Eduardito Lopez. Joining them will be Venezuelan catcher Alexi Quiroz; Amauri Ramirez from Lancaster, PA (although he later moved to the Dominican Republic), and Christian Navarro, a right-handed hurler from Panama.
Head of the Class
All the signings are of note and shore up a major league pipeline for the Astros since punishments from the 2017 scandal fallout hindered the team’s ongoing growth. The international scouting has been strong for the team and has resulted in adding players such as Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa. The headliner from this class of signings is likely Hernandez.
The 20-year-old left-handed hitting Hernandez was projected by Baseball America to command a high signing bonus in this year’s class. Charlie Gonzalez, the Astros’ senior scouting advisor, described Gonzalez as a “strong, twitchy, muscular center fielder with a rare combination of hit ability, power, and speed. His impact ability from the left side and elite straight-lie speed stood out during the scouting process, the latter of which will rank toward the top of our system.”
The Astros squad will start Spring Training in February. The first full-team workout is slated for February 19 in West Palm Beach, FL. With March 28th, Opening Day, on the horizon, there are a handful of new players who will start trying to break their way onto the team.
Photo Credit: © Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
