Pirates Prospects has learned that the Pittsburgh Pirates signed two pitchers from the Dominican Republic on Wednesday afternoon. We recently noted that the Pirates had $613,500 remaining from their international bonus pool, with this current signing period ending on June 15th. These are the first signings since we received that information.
The better player at this point appears to be Wilkin Valdez, a 17-year-old right-handed pitcher from Santiago, DR. He’s a former outfielder with a huge 6’4″ frame, currently weighing 210 pounds. He has a 90-93 MPH fastball with good arm action, delivery and solid arm speed to project on. Valdez also has a feel for a slider and his third pitch is a changeup. Between his age and frame, there could easily be more velocity in his future.
The other pitcher is 19-year-old lefty Raul Mora from San Pedro de Macoris, DR. He’s a late bloomer, who now throws 88-90 MPH. He’s 6’3″ with broad shoulders and a TON of room to fill out. Mora currently weighs just 145 pounds. He already has solid secondary pitches, with a feel for a slider and his second best pitch is his changeup. Mora is just the second left-handed pitcher on the international side signed since July 2nd.
The Pirates have now signed 32 players since July 2nd. We have updated our international signing tracker.
