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MiLB News: Where Will Moncada Land?

By Wayne Cavadi |

Well, the Yoan Moncada sweepstakes seems to be nearing an end. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweeted out:

For those of you not in the know, Moncada is the 19-year old Cuban sensation who was just cleared to sign in the United States. Little was known about Moncada until his recent tryouts because he disappeared from Cuba and went to Guatemala after his year-18 season in the Serie Nacionale in hopes of breaking into the big leagues. Ben Badler of Baseball America feels he is better than Yasmany Thomas with more upside than Rusney Castillo, two international superstars that both signed in the $70-million range rather recently. 

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Jim Callis of MLB.com compared Moncada to the Top 15 middle infield prospects in baseball and the young middle infielder is not far off – again at the age of 19 – than any of them. He grades out as a 60 hitter, with 60 power, 65 speed, a 60 arm and registers as a 50 fielder on the traditional 20 to 80 scale used to grade prospects. A grade of 50 is usually considered a tick above average and major league ready. Moncada is well above 50 in every category but one. He compares to Carlos Correa, who is hands down the highest rated middle infield prospect in baseball, and Corey Seager, another top 10 prospect. Moncada is a rare 5-tool prospect and may have a higher ceiling than both of those players. He is now seemingly ready to explode on to the scene.

12 teams have been rumored to be in on the mix having held private workouts with Moncada: the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox, the Dodgers, Padres, Rangers, Cubs, Giants, Tigers, Braves, Brewers, Rays and Angels are all in the hunt. The Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers can essentially be ruled out since they are not allowed to spend more than $250,000 before the July 2nd deadline. Moncada won’t last that long.

Moncada is also rumored to be ready to set a record for an international signing bonus, seeking somewhere between $30 to $50 million. That would cost teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays $60 to $100 million because their past spending has them on the books for 100 percent tax. Still, you have to assume that free spenders like the Yankees and Red Sox won’t be deterred by finances when it comes to a rare talent like Moncada.

The Braves don’t make a lot of sense as a landing spot as their top prospect (Jose Peraza) is a second baseman and Rio Ruiz, who plays third base where some feel Moncada may be better suited, is their 6th overall prospect. The Braves however are showing a break from the past, so you can’t put anything past John Hart and the new regime just yet.

Many feel the the Tigers, Padres and Dodgers join the Yankees and Red Sox as the true five suitors for Moncada. The Padres have shown a willingness to transform their entire team, and while they were able to hold onto to several top prospects, they new front office still wiped out a lot of their younger prospects this offseason. The Tigers have an aging Ian Kinsler at second and really nothing along the pipeline to look forward to in the future. The Dodgers? Well the Dodgers simply like to spend money. Corey Seager should be their third baseman of the future and Jimmy Rollins and Howie Kendrick can’t play forever, so it’s not out of the question to see the Dodgers swoop in and make a play.

It will be exciting to see how this pans out over the next several days. Moncada is the most attractive piece left on the market and there are some big players ready to make a big splash on the youngster. Where he lands? We will just have to wait and see.

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