Where are the signees now four years later?
There is an ever-increasing focus on international markets for North American sports over the last decade-plus and it is one of the more interesting dynamics to observe. From the spectacle of NFL games in London, Mexico City, or even Brazil to the Opening Day festivities in Tokyo in just 61 days, it’s clear that these sports see significant growth potential overseas. For myself, it’s been equally fascinating to watch the players within the league become substantially more global over the past quarter century. In 2000, Latino players represented around a quarter of the league while today that number has crept up to a third and around the same number are foreign born players. That diversity inevitably expands the game’s influence and popularity on the global stage as it demonstrates a viable path to stardom that may not otherwise have existed. The next set of hopeful youngsters are beginning their journey on that path now as the international signing period began yesterday for the entire league. While the D-Backs will not be in on the undeniable star of the show in Roki Sasaki, there are plenty of other possible stars-in-waiting across the spectrum. In the same way that I completed a wrap-up of the D-Backs’ 2019 draft last season, I thought a similar exercise might be in order for the D-Backs’ 2021 signees who are four years into their development.
As DBacksEurope succinctly put it back in early 2021, the international signings are a true hit and miss gamble as many of the players are still in their teens at signing and have substantial growth still to come – both mentally and physically. But it also represents one of the cheapest ways to unearth talent for franchises as many players can sign for relative pittances compared to the signing bonuses bestowed on US-born draftees. Our very own MVP-candidate in 2024, Ketel Marte, was signed for just $100,000 back in 2011 by the Mariners before being traded. Epitomizing this type of gamble that teams take, of the five highlighted players in that 2021 article, one has made it as far as high-A Hillsboro, two have just made it stateside in 2024 at low-A Visalia, and the final two are still toiling away in the Dominican leagues. Those first three are Manuel and Jefferson Peña (no relation) and Kenny Castillo while the latter two are Jakey Josepha and Ezequiel Surun. Within that first trio, the only one that has really distinguished themselves is Manuel. After signing a $1.2 million contract with the team in 2021, the front office aggressively pushed him to Visalia during his age-18 season where he hit a wall with a .248/.344/.314 slash line and then posted much of the same in his first full season repeating the level. Even still, the front office must have seen some improvement that they liked as he was promoted to Hillsboro halfway through the season where he again posted a middling .242/.301/.381 slash – albeit with some slight improvement in his slugging. However, Manuel had a breakout season in 2024 as he traded some of the pop for additional contact, crafting a much more balanced .275/.327/.370 slash line while providing adequate second base defense for a team that narrowly missed the high-A playoffs. It’s entirely possible that he begins the season in Amarillo with an ETA to the majors in 2026.
Instead, the most-valuable signing from that class so far has been Yilber Diaz, an unheralded pick at the time who signed for just $10,000 out of Venezuela. In just four years, he rocketed himself through the Arizona farm system on the strength of a fastball that nearly touches triple digits, an excellent slider, and a wipeout knuckle curve. As a result, he has put himself firmly on the map for the big league club in some capacity – perhaps taking on a similar role to Bryce Jarvis in 2024 as a swingman. Most projections still have him more in a relief role given how aggressive his overall delivery is, but a four-pitch mix is difficult to replicate elsewhere in a player that’s still relatively young and developing. I am excited to see what Diaz can continue to do and prove any doubters wrong.