Ben Badler of Baseball America has his latest July 2nd notebook up, in which he discusses top Mexican pitching prospect Luis Heredia. In the discussion, Badler mentions that the Yankees, Athletics, and Dodgers have shown an interest in Heredia, but that the Pirates and the Toronto Blue Jays are the heavy favorites to land the 15-year old pitcher.
Heredia’s bonus demands were originally figured to be around $2.2 M, although Badler reports that they could end up closer to $3 M now. Heredia can’t sign until August 16th, when he turns 16 years old. That’s convenient for the Pirates, as they have until August 16th to sign Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie, plus every other member of the 2010 draft class. If the Pirates could land Taillon, Allie, and Heredia, it would be a massive boost to the pitching depth in the farm system.
Dejan Kovacevic did a feature on Heredia earlier this month, describing the young pitcher as having four “plus” pitches: a fastball, changeup, slider, and curveball.
The Pirates are also believed to have a strong interest in Elvis Sanchez, a top power hitting third base prospect out of the Dominican Republic. Sanchez won’t be able to sign until the International Signing Period begins on July 2nd, which is this Friday. The Mets and Astros are also reported to have an interest in Sanchez.
