The Tampa Bay Rays have put a lot of effort into acquiring prospects at the shortstop position.
The International Signing period is under way and on Sunday, the Rays added to their arsenal of young shortstops.
Tampa Bay signed the No.1 rated international prospect, according to MLBPipeline.com, 16-year-old Wander Samuel Franco from the Dominican Republic. The switch-hitting shortstop will join the Rays’ minor-league system after inking a deal for $3.85M.
The #1 prospect on our int’l Top 30 list, Wander Samuel Franco, has a $3.825m deal with #Rays, per @JesseSanchezMLB: https://t.co/uGUHyJkA97 pic.twitter.com/1nT5CvX8X6
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 2, 2017
All in the Family
Franco has the bloodlines to succeed at the MLB-level. He is the nephew of San Diego Padres shortstop Erick Aybar, and former-Rays shortstop Willy Aybar. Plus, he’s the younger brother of prospects Wander Javier Franco (KC) and Wander Alexander Franco (HOU).
Scouting Video
Director of International Scouting Carlos Martinez spoke highly of the shortstop.
“We saw this as an opportunity to add to our system a high-caliber, switch-hitting shortstop with a good blend of tools and skills. He’s very young, but very mature, with great bloodlines.”
Already in the System
Clearly, Tampa Bay’s front office adheres to the theory that shortstop is the most important position on the field.
Three of the Top 15 prospects in their system are shortstops. This includes Adrian Rondon who signed during the 2014 International Signing period. Rondon was also the best player available in the 2014 class. He’s the No.13 prospect in the Rays organization.
Willy Adames is viewed as the future at shortstop. He should join the big-league club next season.
Recently announced as a member of the World Team in the All-Star Futures game, Lucius Fox is the No.14 prospect in the organization. Fox joined the Rays as part of the Matt Moore trade.
Additional Prospect
The Rays have a total of $5.25M to spend on International prospects. In addition to the Franco signing, the Rays added RHP Victor Munoz, also from the Dominican Republic.
