San Diego Padres 2024 International Review
Two years in a row, the Padres signed the best international prospect in the class. They did it in 2023 with catcher Ethan Salas and repeated again this year with shortstop Leodalis De Vries. They’re both Top 100 prospects and two of the premier players in the farm system, but the Padres have used international signings as trade chips in recent years as well. Outfielder Samuel Zavala and righthander Jairo Iriarte were both key prospects in the March trade for righthander Dylan Cease. Righthander Jarlin Susana went to the Nationals in the Juan Soto deal, while shortstop Victor Acosta (Reds) and outfielder Estuar Suero (Pirates) are also top 30 prospects in their organizations after the Padres traded them.
Top Of The Class
The Padres signed 17-year-old Dominican shortstop Leodalis De Vries for $4.2 million, the highest bonus this year for a Dominican player and No. 2 in the class overall behind Venezuelan shortstop Jose Perdomo (Braves). De Vries was the top prospect available this year, drawing widespread praise from scouts for his offensive polish and upside, with the Padres already pushing him to Low-A Lake Elsinore. De Vries is 6-foot-2, 185 pounds with a great track record of getting on base and hitting for power as an amateur. A baseball rat who had a ton of game experience before signing, De Vries has a compact, accurate swing from both sides of the plate. He uses his hands well in his swing with good bat path, showing the ability to maneuver the barrel and find the sweet spot on pitches throughout the strike zone. He has the hand-eye coordination to make contact at a high clip with an advanced approach for his age. His bat speed enables him to drive the ball with impact, whether he’s generating backspin on balls to the opposite field gap or pulling a ball over the fence, making him a potential 25-plus home run threat. De Vries’ coordination and baseball instincts show up at shortstop as well. He’s a tick above-average runner with an average arm that could still get stronger, with the athleticism and actions that give him a chance to stick at shortstop, where he reads hops well. Some scouts thought De Vries might end up at second or third base in the big leagues as he gets bigger, but the early returns on his defense have been positive.
Names To Know
Humberto Cruz, RHP, Mexico: After signing De Vries on Jan. 15, the Padres had to wait a little longer to be able to acquire additional bonus pool space so they could sign Cruz. They did that a month later when they traded lefthander Blake Dickerson—who signed out of high school for $500,000 as a 12th-round pick last year—to the Tigers. They then signed the 17-year-old Cruz for $750,000, the largest bonus for a Mexican player this year and the No. 2 bonus for any international pitcher in 2024. Cruz was already one of the best pitching prospects available, but he has gotten even better since then. Cruz, who was with Mexico City in the Mexican League and pitched for Mexico as a 16-year-old in the U-18 World Cup in 2022, is 6-foot-1, 175 pounds and showed good arm speed with a fastball up to 93 mph and projection for more when he signed. More recently, he has been up to 96 mph, a high-end fastball for his age with perhaps more still to come. His changeup has good action and looks like a potential plus pitch, while his breaking ball has gone to a slider with solid tilt. It’s a good delivery with advanced pitchability for his age, giving Cruz a starter look with a promising mix of stuff and feel. Cruz has been in the Dominican Republic, but he’s advanced enough that he will pitch in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League this year.
Yunny Tovar, LHP, Venezuela: Tovar signed for $200,000, but he’s going to miss the 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery. He’s a thickly built 6-foot-2, 200 pounds at 17 with a fastball up to 93 mph from a short arm stroke and a breaking ball with three-quarters action that’s ahead of his changeup.
Clay Winklaar, OF, Curacao: Winklaar, 17, stood out for his physicality in Curacao at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds when he signed for $170,000. It’s a power-over-hit profile, with long limbs that he will have to keep under control in his swing, but home run sock to his pull side now and the strength projection to grow into plus raw power. Winklaar has an above-average arm that fits in right field.
Sleeper Watch
The Padres spent nearly all of their bonus pool space on four players, but they still signed more than 30 players this year, with almost all of the rest getting $10,000 (bonuses of that amount or less don’t count toward a team’s pool spending). Among those lower-dollar signings, the Padres do have a few intriguing sleepers.
Dominican outfielder Jesmaylin Arias trained in the same program as De Vries and has an intriguing lefthanded bat. Signed for $30,000, Arias has a strong, stocky build (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) at 17 with a loose, fluid swing and a knack for finding the barrel, sending line drives to all fields with gap power. He should see time in all three outfield spots.
Jhojan Downer ($10,000) is an athletic, high-energy catcher from Panama who represented his country in the U-15 World Cup Americas Qualifier in 2022. A 16-year-old righthanded hitter at 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, Downer is an average runner who moves well to go to the outfield if needed, but he looks like he should be able to stick behind the plate with a strong arm to cut his pop times under 2.0 seconds in games on his best throws.
Venezuelan shortstop Kevin Tamburini was eligible to sign in 2023, but he signed this year for $10,000. He’s an 18-year-old who keeps his hands short to the ball with a flat path and good bat control from the left side. Tamburini strings together quality at-bats and sprays line drives around the field, albeit without much power yet from his slender 6-foot-1, 150-pound build. He should see time all around the infield.
Dominican righthander Elvis Reyes is 21, so he’s significantly older than most signings, but he has an intriguing power arm. A $10,000 signing, Reyes is 6-foot-4, 185 pounds with long arms, a fastball up to 95 mph and the look of a pitcher who could be throwing in the upper-90s or better with strength gains. He’s still raw for his age and could end up a power reliever.
