Tampa Bay Rays connected with two top International Prospects

The 2020 International Signing period is fast approaching (if it happens) and, thus far, the Tampa Bay Rays have been connected with two of the top prospects slated to sign:

According to Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, the Tampa Bay Rays are expected to sign 16-year-old Venezuelan shortstop Carlos Colmenarez and 16-year-old Dominican outfielder Jhonny Piron

The two prospects have different rankings between the pundits of Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, as Baseball America didn’t rank the players by their abilities, but rather by their projected signing bonuses.

Colmenarez receives the highest praise of any player connected to the Rays with Baseball America has him with the 5th highest signing bonus — between $3M and $3.5M — and MLB Pipeline ranks him as the third best player among the class of 2020.

Meanwhile, Piron is slotted 17th by Baseball America — to sign between $1.5M and $2M — and was 15th overall by MLB Pipeline.

Colmenarez ranks near the top of his class for good reason as his hit tool is very highly regarded and scouts think it is possible he’ll develop into a decent power hitter as he ages. Along with his excellent offensive possibilities, Colmenarez also projects as a future plus defender at shortstop.

In this video, Colmenarez is comp’d to Asdrubal Cabrera:

Piron is an exciting prospect who will be fun to watch develop if he is able to put his tools together. Scouts rave about his speed and ability to cover ground in center field, a position in which he is likely to stay.

Piron projects the ability to develop some power as well, with MLB Pipepline expecting him to have plus power in the future.

The international signing period is still on track to begin on July 2nd, where a flurry of deals will be announced, and hopefully including the two above connected to the Tampa Bay Rays.