Pittsburgh Pirates 2024 International Review

Top Of The Class

The Pirates signed 17-year-old Dominican outfielder Bralyn Brazoban for $2 million, the 10th-highest international bonus this year. He’s an athletic 6-foot-1, 180-pound lefty with a blend of power and speed. He can drive the ball out of the park to his pull side and shows the strength projection to have plus raw power. Brazoban will get pull-happy and some scouts thought he would have a power-over-hit profile, but there’s a chance for 25-plus home run juice if he’s able to translate it against live pitching. He’s a plus runner with a strong arm, so while there’s a chance he could outgrow the position depending which direction his body and speed go, he has the tools right now to handle center field. 

The Pirates also gave a seven-figure bonus to Adbiel Feliz, a 17-year-old shortstop who got $1.2 million. Feliz was one of the best defensive shortstops available. He’s 6 feet, 175 pounds with the ingredients to develop into a plus defender. He’s an above-average runner and a quick-twitch athlete with fluid movements and good body control at shortstop, where he has secure hands and a tick above-average arm. Like a lot of young shortstops, there are times where he can get too quick and will need to slow things down, but he’s capable of making both the routine and the acrobatic plays. Feliz is a defensive-minded player with solid contact skills for his age from both sides of the plate, though power is unlikely to be a big part of his game. 

Names To Know

Irwin Ramirez, RHP, Venezuela: Ramirez trained in the Dominican Republic before signing for $450,000. He hit a growth spurt during the scouting process up to 6-foot-3, 190 pounds with a fastball that jumped from upper-80s earlier to touching 95 mph by the end of 2023. It’s a big fastball already for a 17-year-old with the potential for more velocity still to come. Ramirez had some effort to his delivery before, but he has toned down some of the herky-jerky movements to have smoother, more repeatable mechanics. He has shown feel to spin a curveball and has tinkered with a slider, showing feel to spin both and could ultimately gravitate more toward the slider with the way his breaking stuff moves laterally, with a changeup rounding his repertoire. 

Kendrick Herrera, SS, Dominican Republic: An athletic shortstop signed for $450,000, Herrera is 6 feet, 170 pounds and moves around well to both sides at shortstop. He has soft hands, good footwork and the arm strength to project to stick at shortstop. A glove-first shortstop, Herrera is a line-drive hitter with gap power from the right side. 

Edward Florentino, OF, Dominican Republic: Florentino signed for $395,000 after showing some of the better lefthanded power available. He’s a massive 6-foot-4, 200 pounds at 17, with the mix of bat speed and strength to generate what should be plus raw power and potentially a plus-plus tool. Florentino can blast balls in batting practice and hammer a fastball, but he will need to improve his pitch recognition and approach to translate his power more often against live pitching. Florentino is a power-driven player who has a chance to develop as a corner outfielder, though he has gotten exposure to first base as well. 

Iverson Allen, OF, Panama: Allen signed for $300,000 as one of the youngest players in the 2024 class. He will play the full DSL season at 16, and with an Aug. 18 birthday, he wouldn’t have been eligible to sign until next year had he been born two weeks later. Allen played for Panama at the U-15 World Cup in 2022, leading the team in walks while hitting .353/.542/.471. That came after he played that year in the U-15 World Cup Americas Qualifier, where he hit .429/.704/.429 with a team-high nine walks (tied for second in the tournament) and only one strikeout in 27 trips to the plate.

He’s 6 feet, 160 pounds and won’t jump out immediately in a workout but is better in games. It’s not a conventional righthanded swing, but he tracks pitches well, adjusts to offspeed stuff and has a knack for being on time. He has gap power that’s trending up, driving the ball with surprising sting for a player his age and size. He’s a tick above-average runner who should rotate around all three outfield spots. 

Reinold Navarro, LHP, Dominican Republic: When teams were scouting Navarro as an amateur, he was mostly in the mid-to-upper 80s, but his velocity has spiked since then. Signed at 17 for $270,000, Navarro is 6 feet, 180 pounds and touched 95 mph leading into the DSL season. He’s a strike-throwing lefty who now has a power arm for his age and shows feel to spin a slider that’s further along than his changeup. 

Frankeli Mesta, SS, Dominican Republic: Mesta drove the ball well from both sides of the plate as an amateur and has grown into even more power since signing for $200,000. He’s 6-foot-2, 175 pounds with loud contact for a 16-year-old, with room to get even stronger and possibly still grow taller with 25-plus home run potential. He’s an offensive-minded player who could get time at shortstop but might move around to third base or second as well. 

Angel Herrera, RHP, Venezuela: Herrera is young for the class (he turns 17 in July) with a slender 6-foot-1, 170-pound build. Signed for $190,000, Herrera didn’t have much strength as an amateur when he was mostly pitching in the mid-80s, standing out more for his sound delivery and pitchability. He’s starting to layer on strength, which has helped his fastball reach 92 mph, with solid secondaries for his age with his curveball and changeup. 

Randol Martinez, RHP, Dominican Republic: Martinez signed for $180,000 with loose, easy arm action and projection to his 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame at 16 with a promising fastball that has been up to 93 mph. He’s a solid strike-thrower for his age with his fastball his best pitch and developing feel for his curveball and changeup. 

Sleeper Watch

Javier Acevedo was the catcher for Panama at the U-15 World Cup Americas Qualifier in 2022 and again that year in the U-15 World Cup in 2022. He has a medium, slender frame (5-foot-10, 150 pounds) with the athleticism, agility and flexibility that should allow him to stay behind the plate. Signed for $130,000, Acevedo is a smart player who has rapidly picked up English. Scouts highest on Acevedo liked his hitting ability as well, with a contact-oriented approach to use the whole field with occasional doubles pop.