Cleveland Baseball Insider

Cleveland Guardians 2022-23 International Signing Day Preview

Dominican shortstop Welbyn Francisca headlines a class of 24 players linked to sign with the Guardians on January 15th

Todd Paquette

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The Cleveland Guardians are currently linked to 24 players for their 2022 international signing class that are set to sign on Sunday January 15, 2023. The Guardians are one of eight teams to receive a Competitive Balance A selection which comes with a total pool allotment of $5,825,500 for the signing period.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the international signing period used to begin on July 2, but now begins on January 15 of every season. An international player is eligible to sign with a Major League team between January 15 and December 15, 2023. He must turn 16 before he signs. In practical terms, that means players born between September 1, 2005, and August 31, 2006, are eligible to sign.

Cleveland tends to go with a position player-heavy approach internationally while utilizing the MLB Draft to restock their system with top arms. Position players are considered the safest route usually in the international market especially due to the age and projection as most of the players signed are just 16-to-17 years old. 

The Guardians revamped their International Scouting Department not too long ago and so far, it looks like it's paying off producing lots of high-level talent over the past five years. Four players from the 2017 class are already on the 40-man roster as well as one from the 2018 class to date.

Here are just some of the talented international players signed since 2017 alone by the Guardians organization.

2017 Class

  • Jhonkensy Noel (40-man) - 1B/3B/OF
  • Alexfri Planez - OF
  • Brayan Rocchio (40-man) - 2B/SS
  • Jose Tena (40-man) - 2B/SS
  • George Valera (40-man) - OF

2018 Class

  • Jorge Burgos - OF
  • Dayan Frias - 2B/SS
  • Angel Martinez (40-man) - 2B/SS
  • Gabriel Rodriguez - 3B/SS
  • Junior Sanquintin - 1B

2019 Class

  • Wuilfredo Antunez - OF
  • Juan Benjamin - 2B/SS
  • Maick Collado - 1B/3B
  • Luis Durango Jr. - OF
  • Yorman Gomez - RHP
  • Lexer Saduy - OF

2020 Class

  • Austin Aldeano - RHP
  • Frank Alduey - 2B/SS
  • Angel Genao - 2B/SS
  • Robert Lopez - C
  • Manuel Mejias - C

2021 Class

  • Yanki Jean-Baptiste - SS/3B
  • Jose Cedeno - C
  • Jaison Chourio - OF
  • Jose Gomez - OF
  • Victor Izturis - C
  • Alberto Menedez - 2B/SS
  • Rafael Ramirez Jr. - 2B/SS

Now onto the 2022 class that is headlined by a talented and very athletic 16-year-old Dominican switch-hitting shortstop Welbyn Francisca who is set to sign for $1.375MM. Two other top names in the signing class are 17-year-old outfielder Yerlin Luis signing for $850K out of the Dominican Republic and 17-year-old shortstop Jose Marcano signing for $800K out of Venezuela.

Welbyn Francisca - SS

  • 16-years-old
  • Ht: 5’10; Wt: 175
  • B/T: S/R
  • Romana, Dominican Republic
  • HYL Baseball Academy

Francisca has huge upside and is currently ranked as the 5th best overall international prospect by Fangraphs, 22nd by Baseball America and 28th by MLBPipeline.

Considered one of the most exciting and advanced bats in the class. He has a chance to be a plus hitter with outstanding bat to ball skills from both sides of the plate and the ability to barrel up balls consistently throughout the zone. As he fills out more and matures, he has the possibility to add power to his game especially with his tremendous bat speed.

Francisca possesses outstanding speed and has posted double plus run times and could potentially develop into a base-stealer. His quickness and athletic ability along with plus instincts allow him to cover a lot of ground on defense. His arm is considered close to plus and he should be able to stay at shortstop as he advances through the system, but he could easily transition to second base.

Yerlin Luis - OF

  • 17-years-old
  • Ht: 5'10; Wt: 160
  • B/T: S/R
  • Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  • JP Baseball Academy

Luis comes in ranked as the 22nd best overall prospect by Fangraphs and 37th by MLBPipeline.

Another exciting young bat the Dominican outfielder has great bat speed with good bat to ball skills with a mature approach at the plate. Luis has a bit of an upstroke in his swing and that along with his consistent hard contact he makes could lead to some power at the plate as he continues to mature and fill out.

Luis is athletic and has a chance to become an above average centerfielder. He has average to above average speed as well as an average to above average arm. If he doesn't stick in center field, he could easily transition to a corner outfield spot.

Jose Marcano - SS

  • 17-years-old
  • Ht: 5'10; Wt: 155
  • B/T: L/R
  • Valencia, Venezuela
  • CAMG9 Baseball Academy

The Venezuelan shortstop physically he has a solid body with good projection fill out and mature in the future. Marcano has a sweet left-handed swing with high bat to ball skills. His power projection is below average but occasionally he can drive the ball deep. 

Marcano defensive skills are solid, he has a strong enough arm to possibly stick at shortstop but has the ability to play all over the infield. He could be a strong utility player if he doesn't stick at shortstop as he used to be a full-time outfielder. Marcano's work ethic is tremendous as he is a tireless worker and has a high baseball IQ.

All 24 players scheduled to sign listed below alphabetically along with players position and home country. Expect some more names other than the top three signing bonus names covered in Francisca, Luis and Marcano to emerge as solid prospects down the road from this 2022 class. 

With this in mind, Cleveland doesn't usually spend their allotted international draft money on big named players but instead they typically spread the wealth signing multiple players that might be considered mid-level prospects. This approach has worked well for them as of late with the organizations outstanding international scouting department finding many diamonds in the rough.

Name

Position

Country

Javier Abreu

RHP

Caracas, Venezuela

Jhorvic Abreus

SS

Caracas, Venezuela

Pablo Arosemena

C

Panama City, Panama

Mason Bolivar

OF

Valencia, Venezuela

Sebastian Cadiz

C

Caracas, Venezuela

Estarlin Cruz

LHP

Fantino, Dominican Republic

Pedro Dalmagro

C

Caracas, Venezuela

Juan Frances

OF

Mariara, Venezuela

Welbyn Francisca

SS

Romana, Dominican Republic

Reiner Herrera

C

Merida, Venezuela

Jose Marcano

SS

Valencia, Venezuela

Jonathan Martinez

SS

San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic

Luis Merejo

3B

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Yaikel Mijaris

INF

Caracas, Venezuela

Yoelis Perez Moran

RHP

Bonoa, Dominican Republic

Manuel Osorio

LHP

Caracas, Venezuela

Santiago Peraza

RHP

Barquisimeto, Venezuela

Erigaldi Perez

RHP

Romana, Dominican Republic

Jose Pirela

OF

Maracaibo, Venezuela

Renil Ramos

RHP

Maracay, Venezuela

Heribert Silva

OF

Barquisimeto, Venezuela

Jonathan Taveras

SS

Moca, Dominican Republic

Ayala Yelserth

INF

Maracay, Venezuela

Yerlin Luis

OF

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Breakdown of the Guardians entire 2022 international free-agent class.

Country

  • Venezuela (15)
  • Dominican Republic (8)
  • Panama (1)

Positions

  • SS (5)
  • OF (5)
  • RHP (5)
  • C (4)
  • LHP (2)
  • UTL (2)
  • (3B) 1

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Todd Paquette
TODD PAQUETTE

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