When running a professional baseball organization, you are given many ways to help build and lay the foundation of your future.
There’s the MLB Draft, where you can select collegiate or high school talent. There’s trading for prospects and rebuilding from the ground up. But the third way is different: it’s the international free agent market.
Every January 15, general managers across the league sign a group of international players, most of whom are usually from countries like the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Cuba, etc. Most the time we only hear about the stand-out players like San Diego’s catching prospect Ethan Salas or current Orioles catching prospect Samuel Basallo.
We also see success stories like Luis Robert Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr. or Shohei Ohtani. Yet, most organizations make anywhere between five to 25 signings based on their money situation. Teams are bound to find some random diamonds in the rough that you don’t fully expect to be a top tier players, but they develop so well that they turn into players with high ceilings.
Orioles GM Mike Elias has gone through this scenario numerous times in his tenure with Baltimore. With that being said, we have constructed a list of five prospects who Elias signed during the international signing period that have developed into sneaky good big league hopefuls.
(Quick Disclaimer: We decided to keep this as under the radar prospects, so you won’t see names that were on MLB Pipeline’s international prospect rankings at some point.)
Without further ado, let’s get into the list:
Aron Estrada: INF – 2022
This guy just might have been the inspiration for this piece.
Originally signed to the Orioles in 2022 out of Venezuela, Aron Estrada has been a star underrated prospect for the Orioles for most of his career. Through 159 games, the Dominican native is slashing .303/.397/.459 with a .856 OPS, 166 total hits, 33 doubles, eight triples, 12 home runs and 80 RBIs.
Estrada is currently just 19 years old and was just recently called up to the Aberdeen IronBirds for his first stint in High-A. He entered the season with the Delmarva Shorebirds for his first stint in Low-A, and he absolutely took over on the offensive side of the ball. Elias might have really found a special infielder with this guy.
Edgar Portes: RHP – 2019
The 2019 international signing class was the first one under Mike Elias, and while it looks weak five years later, it honestly had huge potential. But one player that flew completely under the radar was right-handed pitcher Edgar Portes from the Dominican Republic.
After having back-to-back seasons of ERAs above six, Portes has really adapted to becoming a quality arm, especially during the 2024 season. In 79 games and 28 starts since signing, Portes has a 12-16 record with a 4.81 ERA in 243 innings on the mound. He’s given up 220 hits, 130 earned runs, 132 walks and has struck out 280, while holding batters to a .236 average, collecting four saves and four holds.
Portes has been the reliever to watch during the 2024 season, as he currently has a 3.64 ERA in 20 games and nine starts. This is the same guy who just two seasons ago had a 6.32 ERA in 18 games and gave up 11 home runs. Portes is a prospect who is still very young at 21 years old, and we will see if his work earns him a late-season promotion to Double-A Bowie.
Angel Tejada: INF – 2021
Originally signed as a shortstop from the Dominican Republic in 2021, Angel Tejada has really built himself into a guy who can play anywhere in the field. The now-20-year-old was signed the same year as top 100 prospect Samuel Basallo and one of the top prospects of the 2020-2021 class in Maikol Hernández.
At first sight, statistically, it doesn’t look like Tejada is this stud player who we’re discussing. But this kid is really starting to break out of his shell. In 225 games throughout four seasons, Tejada is slashing .254/.308/.369 with a .677 OPS and has collected 180 hits, 38 doubles, five triples and 11 home runs with 83 RBIs.
The main thing with Tejada is his defense and his speed. He has swiped 30 bases this season in 35 attempts. The utility part of this kid comes from the fact that he has played first, second and third base, while also playing some outfield. He is still young and is going to make and grow from his mistakes, but keep an eye out for this kid for the rest of this season and beyond.
Deivy Cruz: RHP – 2021
I already highlighted how stacked the 2021 international draft class was for the Orioles with Basallo and Hernández, but it’s still crazy to think that there were two diamonds in the rough in that class alone. This one being left-hander Deivy Cruz from the Dominican Republic.
It might be bad timing, as Cruz is actually having a down year this season, but besides that point, Cruz has been consistently solid. In 83 games and 43 starts, Cruz has a 14-13 record with a 4.23 ERA in 238.1 innings of work. He has given up 192 hits, 112 earned runs, walked 148 batters and struck out 277, holding batters to a .224 average.
While Cruz’s ERA is almost at a six, something to look at is that he is still getting outs, holding batters to a .206 average this season. Cruz is still just 20 years old, so he still has more time to grow and work on his command, which is scary with how he has looked in his career.
Randy Berigüete: RHP – 2019
The final prospect to talk about is one we consider to be a “trust me” prospect. Randy Berigüete was a part of the 2019 international signing class out of the Dominican Republic.
In 2023, he had a 9.76 ERA in 25 games and batters hit .339 against him. However, Berigüete worked hard this past offseason to better himself on the mound. So far in 2024, he has a 3.03 ERA in 28 games and is holding batters to a .211 average. The lowest average he held batters to in a season before this year was a .270 in 2022.
I know that calling Berigüete an underrated prospect with his career stat line can be considered different. Keep an eye on him, though, and you might see a future top pitching prospect in the works, as he is also just 21 years old.
Which international prospect do you follow the most? What do you think of our list? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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