Lazaro Armenteros Highlight Video

Lazaro Armenteros didn’t rank among the Top 20 prospects in Cuba in our April rankings last year, but he was one of the best prospects in his age group before he left the country.

Armenteros is a 16-year-old outfielder who hit well throughout his time in the Cuban junior national leagues and played in the 15U World Cup in Mexico in August 2014. Armenteros led that tournament in slugging and ranked fifth in OBP, batting .462/.611/.962 with 10 walks and eight strikeouts in 36 plate appearances.

Now Armenteros has his first open showcase on Friday at the Padres academy in the Dominican Republic, after which he can begin private workouts for teams. Major League Baseball has been extremely and curiously slow in in making Cuban players free agents in recent months, so Armenteros is still waiting for the commissioner’s office to make him eligible to sign, though he should be eligible during the current 2015-16 signing period.

The highlights in the video above are all from last year’s 15U World Cup, when Armenteros was 15. Armenteros is the same age as the July 2 prospects who signed last year. Baseball America’s top three prospects for July 2 last year were Blue Jays outfielder-turned-third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($3.9 million), Mets shortstop Andres Gimenez (considered by many to be a bargain at $1.2 million) and Rangers outfielder Leodys Taveras ($2.1 million), with Armenteros stacking up well against the top talent from that group.

Baseball America subscribers can read more background and scouting information on Armenteros.