The International signing period opened up on Sunday, and as expected the Pittsburgh Pirates were busy. They locked up a pair of the top available players, while signing or agreeing to deals with 22 players total.
Under General Manager Ben Cherington, the Pirates have been aggressive in the international market, and have made some pretty good sized splashes in each of the last three signing periods. Shalin Polanco, Po-Yu Chen, Yordany De Los Santos, and Tony Blanco are among some of the more notable names grabbed up the past couple of seasons, with there being more on top of that when you dig deeper.
As we know, the International market can be tricky, but as always when it comes to prospects, strength comes in quantity almost as often as quality. The more prospects with upside you align with, the higher probability that you end up with a productive major league ballplayer.
With the last few International signing periods, you can start to see the quantity and quality starting to blend together, and it’s starting to show up in Pittsburgh.
Rodolfo Castro, Ji-Hwan Bae, and Luis Ortiz are three notable names that the Pirates have signed Internationally, and have worked their way through the system and have made their major league debut over the last couple of seasons.
While the list of those who have made the majors is on the smaller end, there is a large group behind them picking up steam, with the names listed above among them.
While the deals aren’t officially signed, as of now, the Pirates added two more highly touted International prospects in Jun-Seok Shim and Raymond Mola. A righty, Shim was the second highest rated pitcher on MLB Pipeline — tenth overall — with the outfielder Mola coming in at 26.
The Pirates are continuing their aggressive ways in the International market, and while it’s still a number, the added push has led to a situation where they are getting some quality names into the system.
Overall, the International signing period is like a big jumbled puzzle that few have truly solved, but those who have and put in the time and effort it takes to find success, it really can make a difference at the Major League level.
Where Shim Fits Into System
There isn’t much information available on Jun-Seok Shim, but what we have has been very encouraging. He was one of the favorites to be the first overall pick in the KBO, but removed himself so that he can sign with a Major League team.
For an 18-year-old he’s very advanced, making sense why he was so highly sought after overseas. If the reports were true on him, he has the kind of upside and skillset that could have made him a highly ranked player when it comes to the MLB Draft.
When taking a look at his scouting grades on MLB Pipeline, they align exactly with Quinn Priester, down to the pitch. The big difference is obviously that Priester played in Triple-A last year, while Shim has yet to pitch in the minors.
It seems somewhat unfair to try and make that kind of comparison when talking about an 18-year-old, but there certainly is a chance that Shim could quickly work his way into the conversation of being one of the system’s top pitching prospects.
Highlight of the Day
Rare game footage of newly acquired Top Int. Pitching Prospect from Korea, Shim Jun-Seok
He is ranked #10 on MLB Pipeline pic.twitter.com/BasHQqiKYw
— Kody Duncan (@KodyDuncanPGH) January 15, 2023
Pirates Prospects Daily
By Tim Williams
**I’m going to take a moment to highlight what an amazing job John Dreker did today in covering all of the Pirates international signings. John works tirelessly all year to report on all of the latest additions, news, and game results on the Pirates international side, and the start of a new signing period is his turn to shine. No one covers this better than John. This is like his Christmas. Except, he’s also really obsessed with actual Christmas. So, this is like his Baseball Christmas. Check out all of the new information on the new players below.
**The Pirates reached agreements with OF Jun-Seok Shim and RHP Raymond Mola. They also added seven players out of Venezuela, and 16-year-old RHP David Matoma from Uganda. In addition to those signings, John had reports on 12 more players.
**Be sure to bookmark our International Signing Tracker, which we’ll keep updated with every signing that is announced throughout the year.
**Ethan Hullihen had his latest Pirates Business update, looking at the Domestic Reserve list, along with a payroll update after the upcoming addition of Andrew McCutchen.
**Jase Bowen had a big day in Australia in the latest Pirates winter league update.
**Missed yesterday? John Dreker previewed what to expect for the international signing period.
Song of the Day
Pirates Prospects Weekly
Ethan Hullihen broke down the Pirates’ Domestic Reserve List in this week’s Pirates Business update. He also updated the payroll estimate after the Pirates agreed with Andrew McCutchen.
I’ve been taking a break to start the year, but will finally return with First Pitch tomorrow. I promise this time.
