Morning Rundown: Pirates linked to 17 year old left-handed Cuban pitcher during International signing period
Reports link Pirates to lefty from Cuba
According to Francys Romero on Twitter, the Pittsburgh Pirates are expected to sign LHP Yoslaniel Hernandez out of Cuba when the International signing period begins on January 15.
Per Romero’s tweet, Hernandez stands at 6’3” and has a fastball that sits 90-93 mph. He’s 17 years old. Hernandez was declared a free agent in May of 2024.
There has been too much linked to the Pirates this signing period. Johan De Los Santos, broth of Pirates’ prospect Yordany, is also expected to sign with the team.
Baseball America expects Yohan to get around the ninth-highest bonus as of right now (he’s ninth on their big board, but they have it in order of expected bonus, not talent).
On Romero’s Substack page, he has a listed bonus of $2.3 million for Johan. He’s a left-handed hitter who’s playing shortstop and has a timed 60-yard run time of 6.3 seconds, which is an 80-grade run time.
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I used to get excited when the international signing period started. Now, not so much. The Pirates have managed to suck the fun out of it by failing to develop players.
According to the substack listings linked above, Pirates are in on only 1 of the top 35 right now (Johan De Los Santos). Maybe they're saving their Intl money for Sasaki.
Good write-up on De Los Santos. He'd be the best signing ever....if he can steal first.