When looking at international prospects, often times we look at their bonuses which usually indicate what the team believes of their talents. However, in this type of talent pool the future is always unclear. With many prospects, as Ben Badler described in this recent article, players are usually signed with projections.

Many scouts look at body types, swing types, pitching mechanics, makeup, baseball acumen, working hard, intelligence, interactions, how the ball jumps off your bat, and comes out of your hand. Often times for a player, who is scouted as early as 13 or 14, they are offered a contract by late-15 to be signed on July 2nd at 16 or whenever they turn 16.

However, they do not have much in-game experience and are usually signed for their tools or projected tools in workouts, not for their play in a league like you’d see with high school players in the United States. Sometimes they turn into a great talent like the Mets version of Jose Reyes who was signed for only $22,000 in 1999.

We decided to make a list of the 10 biggest bonuses that the Mets signed out of the amateur international arena. What should be noted is that two of the top bonuses in Andres Gimenez ($1.2M) and Gregory Guerrero ($1.5M) are not noted, because they have not started their pro careers as of yet.

1.     SS Amed Rosario – $1,750,000 (2012-13)

The top paid spot belongs to Rosario who is currently with the Mets and is the highest rated shortstop in the system. A plus defensive shortstop in terms of range, hands, and arm. He can hit the gaps but hasn’t shown all of his dormant power, going homerless in the Florida State League. Rosario will try to prove his top bonus in St, Lucie or Binghamton as one of the youngest players in the league this year. Mets fans got a Sneak Peek at his ability on Easter Sunday.

 

2.     OF Fernando Martinez – $1,400,000 (2005-06)

The top signing of the Omar Minaya era, Fernando Martinez was hyped like no other. Touted as the “Teenage hitting machine” with the ability to hit for average and power, and comparisons to Manny Ramirez at 17. Martinez was skirted up the minor league ladder, getting to Triple-A by 20 with an .877 OPS at Buffalo.  Fernando Martinez did not live up to expectations at all, and lost a lot of time in his minor league career to injuries, and developed arthritis in his knees by 21. The Mets placed him on waivers at 22 and lost him to the Astros just five years after being ranked the 18th best prospect in baseball. He was implicated in the Biogenesis scandal and played in the Mexican League this past year.

3.     LHP Juan Urbina – $1,200,000 (2009-10)

Son of Ugeth Urbina, Juan was signed in 2009 for 1.2 million dollars. He was touted as a guy who could throw 91-93 early on, but never lived up to the billing. He never put up any real loud numbers, and instead regressed in velocity, throwing in the mid-80’s. He was cut by the Mets on November 1st, 2014, and pitched in the Venezuelan Winter League last year.

4.     SS Kenny Hernandez – $1,000,000 (2014-2015)

The second Million dollar signing of the Sandy Alderson Era, Kenny trained at the Carlos Guillen Training Academy in Venezuela and was billed as the best pure swing in the 2014/15 class. Kenny hit .196/.268/.538 last year at the Dominican Summer League as a 17 year old. Hernandez improved drastically as the season progressed in the DSL after starting out abysmally. He has been splitting time between Shortstop and 3rd Base, and will likely stay at 3rd Base with so many Shortstop in the system. No word yet on whether or not he will be playing stateside this coming season.

5.     C Jose Garcia – $800,000 (2011-12)

Touted with a glove way ahead of his bat, Garcia has not come around hitting wise. He is an excellent defensive catcher, with great catch-and-throw skills, and is an excellent blocker. He has some projected average power that he has not fully tapped into. He hit .286/.342/.343 in 35 games for the 2015 Cyclones. He could be going to the Columbia Fireflies, or back to Brooklyn this coming season.

6.     C Francisco Pena – $750,000 (2006-07)

One of Tony Pena‘s sons, Francisco was a highly touted power bat who was signed in July, 2006 at 16. As a common theme of the Minaya age, players were aggressively pushed by the Tony Bernazard plan, and he was sent to Full-Season Savannah in 2007 at the age of 17. Pena didn’t really live up to the power bat, or bat at all, despite a .752 OPS in his final year. He was let go at the end of the 2013 season and was picked up by the Kansas City Royals, where he hit 27 home runs for their Triple-A team. However, his bat did not play up the following year, and he was not retained. He is currently slated for Baltimore’s Triple-A team.

7.     OF Ricardo Cespedes – $725,000 (2013-14)

One of the youngest players of the 2013-14 signing period, Cespedes was signed on August 24th 2013 to a 725K bonus. A speedy guy with the capability to play center field, and a solid left-handed stroke with some pop to grow into. Cespedes is a guy to watch as he climbs the Mets’ ranks. He had a .224/.282/.267 slash line as a 17 year old in the Gulf Coast League this past year, and should be in line to go to Kingsport or Brooklyn this coming year.

8.     SS Wilmer Flores – $700,000 (2007-08)

This should be a familiar name, as he is on the MLB team this year, and we saw as he became a folk hero last year for the Mets. He was signed in the 2007-08 year and flew up the ranks after hitting .307/.347/.468 with 8 home runs as a 17 year old in the Appalachian League. With a great short stroke that doesn’t strike out often and carries above-average power, Flores climbed the system with ease, and debuted in 2013 as a 21 year old. Currently, he is the Mets’ utility guy and potential 3rd base backup.

9.     RHP Deolis Guerra – $700,000 (2005-06)

Signed out of Venezuela in 2005, Deolis Guerra was a guy to watch. Already sitting in the low 90’s with a plus changeup by 18, Guerra was a guy highly sought after. After posting a 2.20 ERA at Kingsport when he was 17, he was pushed aggressively to St. Lucie in the next year and posted a 4.01 ERA in 20 starts. He was traded to the Twins in the Johan Santana trade in 2008, along with Philip Humber and Carlos Gomez, and didn’t pitch very well as a starter after that, and was eventually converted to a reliever in 2012. He finally reached the Majors this past season with Pittsburgh, but posted a 6.48 ERA in 17 games after doing an excellent job for their triple-a team. He is currently with the Angels this season and will likely report to their AAA team.

10.  C Ali Sanchez – $690,000 (2013-14)

Currently the top ranked Catcher prospect for the Mets, Ali Sanchez has some pretty great potential for the Mets, should he reach his ceiling. Sanchez was signed out of Venezuela in 2013, and was touted as a defensive whiz as a backstop who had impressed coaches prior to last year. However, a pleasant surprise was added to the mix as he hit .303/.406/.394 in the DSL and then .278/.339/.315 as an 18 year old in the Gulf Coast League. He projects to have an above average bat with average power, while having excellent hands and a quick release from the catcher position. He should be at Brooklyn this coming season, and we’ll see what he has has in store as a 19 year old against college competition this coming summer.

Last year, the Mets invested $1,500,000 into Shortstop Gregory Guerrero, a right-handed bat with pop, who is the nephew of Vladimir Guerrero.  They also spent $1,200,000 into shortstop Andres Gimenez, with plus speed and the ability to make a lot of contact from the left side. Both players of which will follow similar steps as the guys listed here that were signed before them. As of right now, Guerrero will play in the Dominican Summer League, while there is no word on where Gimenez will play, with the assumption that he will play in the Gulf Coast League or Kingsport.

Ted’s Prospect Extras:

5 IFA’s that exceeded expectations last season:

OF John Mora – 115 G, 481 PA, 407 AB, 22 2B, 12 3B, 5 HR, 57 RBI, 14 SB, 57/70 BB/K, .278/.368/.428

RHP Harol Gonzalez – 13 G, 9 GS, 65.1 IP, 4.96 ERA, 68 H, 9 BB, 56 K, 1.18 WHIP, .264 BAA

RHP Nabil Crismatt – 12 G, 8 GS, 2.90 ERA, 62 IP, 52 H, 12 BB, 63 K  .223 BAA, 1.03 WHIP

SS Yeffry De Aza – 31 G, 109 PA, 99 AB, 31 H, 7 2B, 2 SB, 2 CS, 5 BB, 26 K, .313/.343/.384

3B Walter Rasquin –  36 G, 126 PA, 104 AB, 31 H, 5 2B, 1 HR, 5 SB, 3 CS, 11 BB, 21 K, .301/.375/.379