Baseball America has the same 4 in their top 100, in most cases rated higher than BR

Bazzana 18 vs 12
DeLauter 45 vs 62
Chourio 51 vs 83
Genao 70 vs 78

MLB.com will be updating again before spring training, I believe but current list includes

Bazzana 12
DeLauter 41
Genao 64
Chourio 72
Velazquez 98

Guardians sign 25 international free agents, including top catching prospect

Updated: Jan. 16, 2025, 5:48 p.m.|Published: Jan. 16, 2025, 4:21 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Thursday was another busy day for the Guardians as the international free agent market entered its second day of business.

After signing 10 players Wednesday, the Guardians signed 15 more on Thursday to bring the total to 25. They started with a signing bonus pool of almost $7 million and they’re making good use of it.

Their main international target was catcher Hiverson Lόpez. They signed the Venezuelan native Thursday for $900,000.

Lόpez is a left-handed hitter who, according to Baseball America, makes good contact and has shown power to his pull side. He’s 5-10 and 180 pounds and has an above average arm.

MLB.com gave this scouting report on Lόpez:

“At present, he is more of a bat-to-ball hitter who shows a propensity for spraying hits around the diamond, but some evaluators see more pop in there as he continues to fill out. With minimal moving parts to his swing and repeatable mechanics, there’s belief that he can contribute with the stick.

”Lόpez fits the strong-armed, athletic backstop mold to a tee. He also displays soft hands that should work to his benefit as pitch framing becomes more integral as he moves up an organization’s ladder. He profiles as an everyday player due to his advanced instincts and actions from behind the plate, which figure to give him a solid developmental runway.”

Lόpez was ranked 41st among MLB.com’s top 50 international free agents.

Here are the other players who signed on Thursday:

SS Jose Riera, Venezuela.
C Gustavo Baptista, Venezuela.
RHP Daniel Gentile, Venezuela.
RHP Enderson Amaya, Venezuela.
C Robert Alvarez, Venezuela.
RHP Amilcar Teran, Venezuela.
LHP Johander Rivero, Venezuela.
SS Israel Alvarez, Venezuela.
RHP Luis Dorante, Venezuela.
RHP Javier Pedraenez, Venezuela.
LHP Yoshtner Farfan, Venezuela.
SS Rodney Rosario, Venezuela.
SS Jefferson Vargas, Venezuela.
SS Ricardo Romero, Venezuela.

After Lόpez, the top signing bonuses on Thursday, according to Guardians’ Prospective, went to Baptista at $450,000, Riera $400,000, Rosario $230,000, Vargas $220,000 and Romero $110,000. Several players in Thursday’s signing group signed for $10,000, which does not count against the Guardians’ bonus pool.

Here are the 10 players who signed on Wednesday:

SS Heins Brito, Dominican Republic, $825,000.
SS Luis Garcia, Dominican Republic, $775,000.
SS Luis Galan, Dominican Republic, $320,000.
RHP Randy Baron, Dominican Republic.
RHP Jhordari Jimenez, Dominican Republic.
OF Freilyn Rodriguez, Dominican Republic.
RHP Julio Rossi, Dominican Republic.
RHP Wilfi Rodriguez, Dominican Republic.
RHP Josh Perez, Dominican Republic.
OF Marcos Belen, Cuba.

Brito received the second biggest signing bonus from the Guards.

Here’s what MLB.com had to say about the switch-hitter:

“Brito, a native of San Cristobal, D.R. is an all-around shortstop that has the potential to impact the game both with the bat and glove.”

“His wheels are already a tick above average, which should pave the way for him to impact the game on the basepaths, a one-two punch when factoring in his contact-based approach with the bat.”

Brito was ranked 48th among MLB.com’s top 50 international free agents.

Here are the international signing bonus pools for MLB’s 30 teams:

$7,555,550: Athletics, Reds, Tigers, Marlins, Brewers, Seattle and Rays.

$6,908,600: Guardians, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Royals and Pirates.

$6,261,600: Braves, Red Sox, Cubs, White Sox, Angels, Mets, Yankees, Phillies, Padres, Rangers, Blue Jays and Nationals.

$5,646,200: Astros and Cardinals.

$5,146,200: Dodgers and Giants.

The international signing period runs from Wednesday through Dec. 15. Eligible players must be at least 16 or will turn 16 before Sept. 1 of the current signing period.

Regarding foreign professional players, players who are at least 25 and have played as a professional in a foreign league recognized by MLB for at least six years, are exempt from the international bonus pool. In other words, they can be showered with millions upon millions of dollars.

Jose Ramirez, Emmanuel Clase, Brayan Rocchio, departed Andres Gimenez, Gabriel Arias, Jhonkensy Noel and Angel Martinez are some of the current and former Cleveland players who have reached the big leagues after being signed as international free agents.

The Guardians signed 15 players from Venezuela, nine from the Dominican and one from Cuba.

“We are thrilled to welcome this group of players into our organization and look forward to partnering with them in their development,” said Richard Conway, Cleveland’s director of international scouting.

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