Dodgers’ Joendry Vargas Signing Looks Wise After Strong First Year in DSL
Every January, baseball fans are introduced to the names of the game’s top international amateur prospects. While scouts based in Latin America, Asia, and the rest of the globe are familiar with their work, it can be a difficult exercise for fans. Second-hand scouting reports and often-poor videos are the primary source of information about who the players are, and who they’re projected to become.
Despite this paucity of information, the international signing period is an important source of talent for major league clubs. Last season, 28.5 percent of all players on Opening Day rosters were foreign-born. Because Major League Baseball’s draft is limited to residents of the U.S., Canada, and U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, there’s literally a whole world of talent never exposed to the draft process.
This year, the international signing period begins on Jan. 15. The Dodgers are typically aggressive in scouting and signing the top-ranked players. Dominican-born shortstop Joendry Vargas was among the best of the bunch last year, and the Dodgers gave him a bonus of roughly $2 million to sign.
Before we take a deep dive into who the Dodgers might target in this year’s class, MLB Pipeline took a look back at Vargas and the other members of the international class of 2023. One year later, the Vargas signing stacks up about as well as any other player in the group.
Vargas, 18, played 48 games for one of the two Dodgers teams in the Dominican Summer League. Despite being among the youngest players on the roster, he led the team in home runs (7), and was among the team leaders in OPS (.952) and stolen bases (19).
MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis and Sam Dykstra recently profiled Vargas as one of six players among the most “impressive debuts from the 2023 international class.” Beyond the numbers, writes Callis, Vargas’ tools shone through:
Shortstop from the Dominican Republic who signed with the Dodgers for a little over $2 million. He went to DSL and hit .328, had an OPS slightly over .950, seven homers and 19 steals in 48 games. You could see tools, you could see instincts. Former switch-hitter, he now hits only right-handed. Good swing, good approach, focuses on hitting line drives to all fields. He’s 6-foot-4, he’s going to get stronger. He’s got plenty of bat speed so I think we’re talking 25-home run power once he’s physically mature. And although he’s bigger than most shortstops, he does have good actions. He moves well to both sides. He’s got a strong arm, I think there’s a pretty good chance he can stay at short. And if for some reason he can’t, I think when you project him physically and you look at the bat then he would profile really well at third base too.
MLB.com
A lot can happen between a teenager’s first professional season and the time he’s ready for a big-league promotion. Vargas will encounter his share of challenges along the way — all players do — but he might mature into a better player than the 11 MLB.com currently ranks ahead of him in the Dodgers’ system.
For now, fans can enjoy the sights and sounds of ball hitting bat, on a well-manicured field, against a picturesque Caribbean backdrop:
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Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Maybe the next Corey Seager who was also 6’4″ and could stroke the ball.