Sox land top Cuban prospect; Cubs use family ties
Major League Baseball is shut down, but international signing day took place Saturday.
The White Sox landed Cuba outfielder Oscar Colas, who is rated the No. 5 international prospect by mlbpipeline.com, and No. 28 Erick Hernandez, an outfielder from the Dominican Republic.
The Cubs signed Dominican Republic shortstop Alexis Hernandez, the No. 18-ranked prospect; Panama catcher-infielder Adam Sanchez, ranked No. 43; and Dominican shortstop Jefferson Rojas.
Hernandez's older brother Cristian is already playing in the Cubs system and is one of their higher-rated prospects. Hernandez, 17, and Rojas played for the same club team.
The left-handed Colas, 23, has been called the "Cuban Ohtani" because he has a mid-90s fastball to go with his hitting prowess, but he is expected to focus on the outfield with the White Sox. Listed at 6-1, 209 by baseball-reference.com, Colas has spent three seasons playing in Japan, in addition to the Cuban league.
Sanchez played in the Little League World Series in 2018. Cubs manager David Ross served as a broadcaster for the event and called Sanchez "an absolute stud." Sanchez, 17, towered over Little League opponents and is now listed at 6-foot, 190.
According to Baseball America, the Cubs signed several other Dominican Republic prospects - OF Josefrailin Alcantara, OF Josias Ramirez, SS Moises Febrillet, C Yidel Diaz, OF Albertina Belliard, RHP Freylin Silverio, SS Sandy Sanchez and SS Darlin de Leon.
Each team has a pool of money it can use to sign international prospects. The White Sox reportedly spent $2.7 million for Colas and $1 million for Hernandez.
The Yankees landed the top-ranked prospect, Dominican Republic SS Roderick Arias for a reported $4 million.
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