As expected, the Pittsburgh Pirates have signed 16-year-old Dominican outfielder Juan Pie this morning. The July 2nd international signing period begins today and we should expect to hear some more signings throughout the day. Pie agreed to a deal for $500,000 according to multiple sources. The Pirates have a $5.75M bonus pool to spend this year, which is more than they have had the last two signing periods combined.
We posted an article on Pie, with multiple videos, which I encourage you to check out. In that article, Pie got the following scouting report:
“Ben Badler describes Pie as a 6’2″, 170 pound, left-handed hitter, with a quick bat. Other sources have him slightly bigger at 6’3″, 175 pounds. He makes consistent contact and uses the entire field as a line drive hitter. His bat will be his carrying tool, as he’s limited to corner outfield due to average speed at best, an average arm and a below average instincts in the field. For what it’s worth, his Dominican Prospect League scouting report has him rated higher as both a runner and an outfielder. He turned 16 on April 1st.”
I’ll add that since then I have heard others describe his arm as below average, but as a 16-year-old with plenty of room to fill out, that’s something that can improve.
UPDATE: 2:00 PM: Pirates GM Neal Huntington was asked about Pie before today’s game and had this to say on the 16-year-old outfielder:
“We love the bat. On multiple looks, it was the bat that stood out. There’s a frame for growth and additional strength as we move forward, but primarily interested in the swing, the impact, how he goes about it. We liked a lot of the bat attributes.”
UPDATE: Jesse Sanchez from MLB.com is reporting that the Pirates have signed Venezuelan outfielder Angel Basabe for $450,000. The only information he gave on him is that he has been training/living in Panama, so he is someone we will get a better update on later.
Meet new #Pirates outfield prospect Angel Basabe ($450K), who is from Venezuela & grew up in Panama. @MLBPipeline pic.twitter.com/2qwMb4j5zv
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) July 2, 2017
We will have a signing tracker up later today and keep it updated throughout the year. This signing period runs until June 15th
