Diamondbacks Agree To Sign No. 27 International Prospect Wilderd Patiño

Wilderd Patiño, a 16-year-old Venezuelan outfielder, reached an agreement to sign with the Diamondbacks. Patiño ranked as the No. 27 international prospect on Baseball America’s rankings of the Top 50 international prospects for 2017. BA subscribers can click here for a full scouting report on Patiño.

A 6-foot-1, 175-pound righthanded hitter, Patiño had long been connected to the Rangers. However, an injury to Patiño’s throwing elbow in the spring left his status uncertain as July 2 approached. For the Diamondbacks, they add Patiño to an international signing class that also includes outfielders Kristian Robinson from the Bahamas and Jorge Barrosa from Venezuela. Robinson is BA’s No. 9 international prospect, while Barrosa ranks No. 44.

For the Rangers, Patiño going to Arizona leaves more money in their 2017-18 international bonus pool and is another signal that they will be one of the favorites to sign Shohei Ohtani if he does make the jump to Major League Baseball after the 2017 season.

Patiño trains with Francisco Ortiz, whose program also has Venezuelan outfielder Raimfer Salinas (the No. 10 international prospect) and catcher Antonio Cabello (No. 15). Both Salinas and Cabello remain unsigned.