Yoan Moncada, a 19 year old switch hitter, has been the talk of the baseball world since his first open workout. Wednesday, the highly anticipated teen ran a 60-yard dash, took batting practice and the infield at three different positions in front of 60-70 scouts, per Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com.
Moncoda, native of Cuba, left the island and established residency in Guatemala in order to petition free agency. Major League Baseball declared the top-tier prospect a free agent Saturday. However, when the young gun will be able to sign is unclear. Moncada played in Cuba’s top 15/16 year old team, stood out in the U-16 IBAF World Baseball Championships in Mexico, and played along side Jose Abreu at age 17 with the Cienfuegos. Moncada’s age and lack of recent playing time makes him an international free agent and subject to international spending restrictions.
International spending restrictions simply means that if a club offered Moncada $30-$40M it would be ignoring it’s bonus pool. With that comes the obligation to pay 100 percent luxury tax on all overages and face spending limits in ensuing years. For instance: The Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Tampa Bay Rays have all spent more than 15 percent above their bonus pool, and are in max penalty range for the 2014-15 period. Along with the 100 percent tax penalty, the teams will be unable to sign any pool-eligible player for more than $300,000 during the next two signing periods.
Moncada looks promising, the only problem would be that he didn’t face live pitching in his exhibition. It is expected for him to appear again to perform for scouts. A few notes from Wednesday in Guatemala:
"Moncada looked better at third and second than he did at shortstop, with enough arm from any infield position. He swung the bat well from both sides of the plate, showing plus raw power both ways. The only negative was that Moncada didn’t face live pitching, hitting only off of a BP pitcher. When asked to grade out his tools based on this workout, in combination with previous reports, one scout gave the following grades:Hit — 60Power — 60Speed — 70Arm — 60Field — 50"
The 2014-15 international signing period begins July 2 and ends June 15,2015. The 2015-16 period begins July 2, 2015. Whether Moncada will become eligible for either of these is still unclear, as he has not obtained a specific license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of Treasury. If he is cleared to play before July 2, the previously exemplified Red Sox and Yankees are noted as the teams with the most scouts in attendance, along with the Chicago Cubs and a following from the Atlanta Braves.
There is expected to be an all-out bid war for the young athlete, who will need to live up to the hype through at least a two year period in the farm system of the winning bidder before advancing to the top.