Oakland Athletics 2024 International Review
The two biggest bonuses in the 2024 international class for the Athletics went to a pair of position players. Yet many of the pitchers the A’s signed will be just as intriguing to watch, with several young arms that have projection indicators pointing in the right direction. These are reports on nine international prospects to watch this year in the Dominican Summer League.
Top Of The Class
The Athletics gave $1.2 million bonuses to a pair of position players, one being 17-year-old Venezuelan center fielder Jose Ramos. He’s one of the premier athletes coming out of Venezuela for 2024. He’s a lean, lively 6-foot-1, 160 pounds and glides around center field with speed that grades out at least plus and an average arm that could tick up to become another plus tool with strength gains. As long he retains his speed, he has the athleticism and tools to stay in center field. Ramos is an explosive player who is still learning to refine his raw tools into skills at the plate. There are scouts who thought he was making improvements with bat-to-ball skills over the past year, though others thought he got pull-happy and would have to make adjustments to make more consistent contact.
Dominican shortstop Edgar Montero, 17, also signed for $1.2 million. He was a skinny kid early in the scouting process who has grown to 6-foot-2, 190 pounds. That leads some scouts to think he will shift over to third base, though others think he has the quickness, efficiency and above-average arm to be able to handle shortstop. At the plate, Montero is a switch-hitter who is more advanced from the left side. Scouts highest on him liked his ability to track pitches and hit with some power from the left side, though others thought that power would come but with higher swing-and-miss risk.
Names To Know
Erick Matos, RHP, Cuba: Matos, 17, signed for $700,000 with an exciting mix of present stuff and upside for more to come. He has a prototype build for a physically projectable pitcher at 6-foot-4, 195 pounds and already runs his fastball up to 94 mph without much effort. It’s a fairly smooth operation with upper-tier velocity that could be in his future, complementing that heater with a big-breaking curveball and a splitter.
Sebastian Rojas, OF, Venezuela: Rojas puts together consistent quality at-bats. Signed for $550,000, he’s a strongly-built righthanded hitter (6 feet, 175 pounds) with a sound swing, a good sense of the strike zone and an approach geared to stay through the middle of the field. He’s strong for his age, though it’s more consistent hard contact than big home run power in games. His above-average speed gives him a chance to develop in center field, where he has a chance to stay depending on his physical development.
Azaeel Pacheco, C, Venezuela: Signed at 17 for $350,000, Pacheco has a stocky strong build at 5-foot-11, 170 pounds and plays with a hard-nosed edge behind the plate. His best tool is his plus arm, which helps him limit stolen bases. There’s strength in his righthanded swing with what looks like a power-over-hit offensive game.
Nathan Arends, RHP, Aruba: Arends, 17, signed for $200,000, the top bonus this year for a pitcher from Aruba. He pitched for the Netherlands last year at the U-18 World Cup and made four relief appearances, allowing only one run on two hits over 8.2 innings, though he did walk eight. He has typically been a better strike-thrower than that, using a low-effort delivery at 6-foot-2, 180 pounds to throw his fastball up to 91 mph and show feel for a changeup that’s ahead of his curveball.
Yohandri Contreras, RHP, Venezuela: Contreras flew under the radar as an amateur in Venezuela but ended up developing into one of the more promising pitchers in the country, landing a $100,000 deal with the A’s. He’s 6-foot-3, 200 pounds and was touching 90 mph during the scouting process, but this spring he has been up to 94 mph. He sticks out for his powerful, explosive athleticism, with arrows pointing to the potential for upper-tank velocity in his future. His fastball is his best pitch, with his breaking ball ahead of his changeup, so while he should develop as a starter, he could end up a power reliever.
Sleeper Watch
One of the prospects the A’s signed for a lower bonus who has taken a jump forward is 17-year-old Venezuelan lefthander Jose Parra, who got $15,000. He’s 5-foot-11, 175 pounds with a thicker lower half and was mostly pitching in the mid-80s and tickling the upper-80s last fall. After an offseason focus on strength, he pitched his first preseason outing this spring with a fastball up to 93 mph. He pairs it with a tight, sharp-breaking curveball that has the potential to be a swing-and-miss weapon.
One other pitcher to watch in the DSL this year is Amilcar Medina. He technically signed in the previous class, though he will make his official debut this season. Medina turns 20 on July 2, so he’s an older signing for an international player, but it’s a huge fastball that has been up to 98 mph with a hard breaking ball, likely fitting as a reliever long term. He pitched last year in winter ball for Zulia in the Venezuelan League, and while he walked 10 with five strikeouts in 8.2 innings, he was facing much older, more experienced competition.
