Dodgers News: Dodgers Sign Top Rated International Prospect Diego Cartaya
The Los Angeles Dodgers have a rich and storied history in regards to signing international prospects. On Monday, they signed Venezuelan catcher Diego Cartaya to a $2,500,000 signing bonus. Cartaya is the top-ranked international prospect according to MLB.com’s Prospect Pipeline.
The Dodgers officially signed Venezuelan catcher Diego Cartaya, the #1 rated International prospect for 2018 according to https://t.co/rPIVUzV15c. pic.twitter.com/1eYYjZwhd9
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 2, 2018
So let’s get to know the 16-year old catching prospect a little bit. Here’s what Prospect Pipeline has to say within Cartaya’s player profile:
The best overall prospect in this year’s class, Cartaya is a well-rounded player at a premium position with the potential to be a star on both sides of the ball.
An advanced hitter, the teenager displays plus contact skills and has been praised for his pitch recognition and feel for the strike zone. He has shown some power to the gaps and is expected to improve on that part of his game as he matures. Cartaya is a below-average runner, but the team that signs him does not expect him to be a threat on the bases. It does hope he follows in the footsteps of Kansas City catcher Salvador Perez, who is also from Venezuela.
On defense, Cartaya has a reputation as a great receiver with very good hands. He handles pitchers well and has a high baseball IQ. He moves well behind the plate.
Obviously, when a player is just 16 years of age; some seasoning must take place. He has several years of development before he will make an impact at the big league level. Still, this is an exciting acquisition. Cartaya immediately vaults the farm system grade all on his own merit.
If everything goes right, we will hear Joe Davis call his name in a few short years. And if there’s anything we’ve learned in regards to Dodgers prospects – time goes by in the blink of an eye.
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Seems to be an abundance of riches at the catcher position with Keibert Ruiz, Will Smith, and now Diego Cartaya. What do you do? Nice problem to have…
I was thinking the same thing Charlz, I think as the years go onward; this works it’s way out. Like anything else – you could see one or two traded/injured. The hope would be two of these reach the big leagues at the same time with some overlap so you have two capable big league backstops!