Tampa Bay Rays will sign top international prospect Adrian Rondon

By Dan Zinski | Jul 2, 2014

May 20, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays hat and glove lay in the dugout against the Oakland Athletics at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

The international signing period for MLB opened on July 2, and the young man Baseball America projected as the top overall prospect has already come off the board. The Tampa Bay Rays reportedly will sign Adrian Rondon, a shortstop from the Dominican Republic who has been hailed by some as the next Hanley Ramirez.

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The key words there are “will sign.” Tampa Bay can’t officially sign Rondon yet because he is still only 15 years old and not technically eligible. When the rules allow the Rays to sign Rondon officially, he will officially receive a $3.3 million signing bonus per Dionisio Sondevila of ESPN Desportes.

That’s a hell of a 16th birthday present if you ask me. Gotta love baseball.

According to Scout’s Kiley McDaniel, this deal with Rondon has more-or-less been in place for a couple of months already. I guess there aren’t any strict tampering rules when it comes to the international prospect signing period.

Here’s a little scouting report on Rondon from MrFantasyFreak.com:

"Rondon’s swing is a thing of beauty, he’s smooth and level with the bat and clears his hips well. Rondon should be able to develop into a gap-to-gap hitter and have good power. He’s tall and lanky but is only 15 years old, according to reports."

He’s only 15 according to reports. But he’s from the Dominican so it’s possible he is already 20. If things work out with this kid the Rays could have themselves a new Hanley Ramirez in about 7 years. Hopefully with better defensive ability.

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