Today is July 2nd and if you’re a baseball fan, you should know that today is the day that teams can begin signing international amateur players. Any player who is 16 right now, is eligible to sign for the first time today. If they turn 16 between now and August 31st, they can sign on their birthday. This year is a bit different than what we have become used to recently.
For the last four signing periods, the bonus pool for each team was based on their record, so the Pirates picked the wrong time to start making the playoffs. Their last bonus pool, which ran from July 2, 2016 to June 15, 2017, was the second lowest in baseball and less than 40% of what they are allowed to spend this year. This year is also the start of the hard cap, so no team will be going crazy signing players just because they can afford to pay 100% tax on their excess bonuses. Teams can trade for up to 75% of their bonus pool, but that still means no one will be spending crazy numbers like we have seen recently. Those teams that did go over during the last two years are in a penalty period still, so there is a lot less competition for any player who wants more than $300,000 this year.
The Pirates have a $5.75 M bonus pool this year, so you can expect them to make more signings of note. As I often point out though, spending money is far from a guarantee that a 16-year-old will be a star. We all know that Luis Heredia hasn’t worked out as planned for his $3M price, but Elias Diaz with his $20,000 bonus, is the one in the majors right now. These kids usually agree to contracts long before signing, and if you think scouts have trouble picking out every future star in high school, imagine trying to guess right on kids who are 14-15 years old. Basically, the best player isn’t always going to be the player the Pirates sign for the most money.
We have only heard one name connected to the Pirates so far this year. Ben Badler from Baseball America reported that Juan Pie, a 16-year-old outfielder from the Dominican, is expected to sign with the Pirates. From what I’ve been told, he is definitely signing and it will probably happen today, possibly before you even read this article. He recently spent two week at the Pirates Dominican academy going through some workouts with other players who will sign today. I have some other names of players who are signing today, but a search for information came up empty. That’s not unusual, because some of the top signings for the Pirates were no more than names and a country until we were able to get a scouting report on them.
So you should expect to hear about Pie today, but beyond that we might not hear about anything else until Monday or even a week later. It’s not cut and dry that every player of note who they sign will be announced today. I wrote eight articles one year for signings on July 2nd. That year the names were coming out at different times throughout the day. Last year, we heard nothing on July 2nd and a bunch of information came out the next day. The best signing from last year didn’t actually happen until this February, and instead of information coming out about the signings, we ended up announcing 18 of the 23 total signings throughout the year. That includes ten players, who signed on July 2nd, but their names weren’t available until we wrote them up on November 4th.
So here is what you need to do today if you’re following international signings. Just sit back and check the site. We will be searching throughout the day, looking for information and posting it when we find anything. If nothing comes up today, don’t panic. The Pirates signed 18 players total on July 2nd last year and with me digging around for info all day, not one signing was announced. I found one around midnight and couldn’t confirm it until the next morning. Yet the Pirates still spent most (or possibly all) of their bonus pool, just like they did the year before. They now have more money to spend this year than the last two signing periods combined, so there will be signings announced at some point besides Juan Pie, don’t worry.
* Quick prospect status updates because it’s Sunday and that’s when we do them. I’m hoping this is the last week Jose Osuna is here and I just put a note sometime during the week that he is no longer a prospect. Yesterday certainly helped, although 1-for-6 with a single won’t win anyone playing time. He still got six at-bats and now he needs just seven more to cross that 130 barrier.
It was also a good (but bad) day for Elias Diaz and Max Moroff. Diaz went 0-for-5, giving him 75 at-bats this year and 81 in his career. Moroff also went 0-for-5 during a very rare start and he now has 38 career at-bats. I’m saying Diaz misses our 2018 Prospect Guide, but Moroff will definitely be in it.
One pitcher with prospect status and it’s Edgar Santana, who has eight appearances. I still think he sticks all year and passes 30 appearances to lose his status. One other pitchers needs to be in these updates and that is Steven Brault. Not sure what else they want to see from him, but he has been ready. He would even be a strong relief option if that’s all they have for him. He sat 94-95 in relief earlier this month and attacks the zone.
PIRATES GAME GRAPH
Source: FanGraphs
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 2-1 to the San Francisco Giants in 11 innings on Saturday. The Pirates will now send Trevor Williams to the mound today for his 11th start. He allowed two runs over seven innings in his last outing. Williams has a 4.79 home ERA and a 4.85 road ERA this season. The Giants will counter with right-hander Jeff Samardzija, who has a 4.63 ERA in 105 innings this season, with 117 strikeouts and a 1.14 WHIP.
In the minors, Starling Marte begins his rehab assignment with Bradenton today. Nick Kingham posted a 6.23 ERA in five starts last month. The opposing starting pitcher for Indianapolis is Lisalverto Bonilla, who was ranked 28th in our 2017 Prospect Guide. The Pirates lost him on waivers when they acquired Pat Light. Taylor Hearn ranks seventh in the FSL in strikeouts with 80, putting him nine behind the league leader. West Virginia starter Eduardo Vera has just six walks in 58.2 innings this season, though two of those walks came in his last start. Domingo Robles is scheduled to make his third start for Bristol. The GCL and DSL Pirates both have off on Sundays.
MLB: Pittsburgh (37-44) vs Giants (32-51) 1:35 PM
Probable starter: Trevor Williams (4.82 ERA, 17:48 BB/SO, 65.1 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (46-35) vs Louisville (32-49) 1:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Nick Kingham (4.91 ERA, 14:41 BB/SO, 44.0 IP)
AA: Altoona (40-38) @ Erie (39-41) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Cody Dickson (15.00 ERA, 2:1 BB/SO, 3.0 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (43-33) vs Florida (29-46) 1:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Taylor Hearn (4.27 ERA, 33:80 BB/SO, 71.2 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (35-41) vs Hickory (31-47) 2:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Eduardo Vera (2.91 ERA, 6:58 BB/SO, 58.2 IP)
Short-Season A: Morgantown (7-5) vs Williamsport (6-6) 4:05 PM (season preview)
Probable Starter: Sergio Cubilete (1.64 ERA, 3:5 BB/SO, 11.0 IP)
Rookie: Bristol (3-7) @ Bluefield (5-5) 6:00 PM
GCL: Pirates (2-4) vs Blue Jays (4-1) 12:00 PM 7/3
DSL: Pirates (15-10) vs Astros Orange (10-15) 10:30 AM 7/3 (season preview)
HIGHLIGHTS
Here is a walk-off hit by Phil Gosselin because who doesn’t like it when their team has a walk-off hit?
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
6/30: Logan Hill promoted to Altoona. Jordan Luplow promoted to Indianapolis. Alexis Bastardo promoted to Bradenton. Julio Eusebio promoted to West Virginia.
6/30: Connor Joe placed on disabled list.
6/30: Jason Rogers released.
6/29: Yeudy Garcia assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab.
6/29: Brandon Cumpton promoted to Altoona.
6/29: Mitch Keller activated from the disabled list.
6/28: Nelson Jorge and Raul Hernandez promoted to Bristol. Eumir Sepulveda and Adonis Pichardo assigned to GCL Pirates from Bristol.
6/28: Daniel Arribas released. John Bormann assigned to Bradenton.
6/28: Angel Vasquez promoted from DSL Pirates to GCL Pirates.
6/27: Antonio Bastardo activated from disabled list. Jacob Stallings optioned to Indianapolis.
6/26: Ty Moore promoted to Bradenton. Garrett Brown promoted to West Virginia
6/25: Logan Ratledge promoted to Altoona.
6/25: Ryan Nagle promoted to West Virginia.
6/25: Matt Diorio and Huascar Fuentes assigned to Bristol from Morgantown.
6/25: Victor Ngoepe, Felix Vinicio, Jose Delgado, Nelson Jorge and Brian Sousa assigned from Bristol to GCL Pirates
6/24: Cole Tucker activated from disabled list.
6/24: Dario Agrazal placed on disabled list. Cody Dickson assigned to Altoona.
6/24: Geoff Hartlieb promoted to Bradenton. Andrew Potter promoted to West Virginia.
6/23: Jake Brentz promoted to Altoona.
6/23: Samuel Reyes promoted to GCL Pirates.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Five former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, plus a transaction of note that could have gone much better if the Pirates were patient. Starting with the players, we have outfielder Nyjer Morgan (2007-09), first baseman Sean Casey (2006), outfielder Tony Armas (1976) and outfielder Ed Beecher of the 1887 Alleghenys. Armas is the father of Tony Armas Jr, who pitched for the Pirates in 2007.
Also born on this date, catcher/outfielder Fred Carroll, who played for the franchise from 1885-89 and then again in 1891. For nine years, he held the franchise’s record for career homers. Carroll batted .281 in 574 games for the Alleghenys/Pirates, scoring 405 times and driving in 295 runs.
On this date in 1892, the Pirates signed outfielder Joe Kelley, who was a 20-year-old minor leaguer at the time. He had 12 games of Major League experience the previous season, but he was still a raw rookie. He played 56 games for the Pirates in 1892 before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles. The deal ended up very bad for the Pirates, who got one half year out of their returning player, George Van Haltren. Kelley became a star almost immediately, despite hitting .239 for the Pirates. He averaged 127 runs scored and drove in an average of 108 runs per year from 1893-98. By the end of his career, he had stats strong enough to get him elected into the Hall of Fame.
