Phillies Sign Venezuelan Outfielder Yhoswar Garcia

Image credit: Yhoswar Garcia

The Phillies today signed Yhoswar Garcia, an 18-year-old center fielder from Venezuela and one of the top prospects in the 2019-20 international signing class.

Garcia would have been eligible to sign last year on July 2, but Major League Baseball made him ineligible to sign until March due to an issue with his age. Garcia now is using a Sept. 13, 2001 date of birth, one year older than he originally presented.

Nicknamed “The Drone,” Garcia is 6-foot-1, 155 pounds with outstanding speed and athleticism. Since Garcia was ineligible to sign for the past year and mostly in Venezuela during that time, he hasn’t been scouted as much as other top 2019 international signings who participated in Tricky League or Dominican instructional league games since July 2. But during his time in Venezuela, Garcia performed well in games and used his premium speed to stand out defensively in center field. He trained with Roberto Vahlis.