Cleveland Indians
Last year the Indians went after two offensive-minded players, outfielder George Valera and shortstop Aaron Bracho, as their top two signings. They look like they’re taking a similar approach in 2018, with two offensive-oriented shortstops their top targets. One is Gabriel Rodriguez, who was the shortstop for Venezuela’s 15U national team last summer, has a strong hitting track record and is one of the top overall prospects in the class. The other is Junior Sanquintin, a switch-hitting shortstop out of the Dominican Republic with good bat speed expected to land a bonus of a little more than $1 million.
Dominican shortstop Angel Martinez, the son of former big league catcher
Sandy Martinez (currently the Nationals’ Dominican field coordinator and Dominican Summer League manager), is also linked to the Indians, as is Dominican outfielder Sterling Romero, with both players expected to sign for around $500,000. Jesus Lara, a bat-first shortstop out of Venezuela with a strong track record of hitting performance in games, is another player connected to Cleveland. They’re also expected to sign Dominican shortstop Jose Baez, the younger brother of their all-star third baseman
Jose Ramirez, likely for a low six-figure deal once he turns 16 on Aug. 30.