Braves excited about potential of this year's international class

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ATLANTA -- Looking back at the 2014 international signing class, the Braves gave $1 million to Juan Yepez, a first baseman/outfielder who debuted at 24 for the 2022 Cardinals and now finds himself battling for a platoon or backup spot with the Nationals.

They gave $175,000 to Shean Michel, an outfielder who played six games above the High-A level before ending his pro career. They gave $150,000 to Jan Guerrero, who was released the following the summer, then signed by the Phillies and released the following year. Oh, and they gave $350,000 to Izzy Wilson, who never advanced past High-A before being released from the organization in 2019.

All of these guys got larger signing bonuses than Ronald Acu?a Jr., whose $100,000 bonus should long be considered one of the international market’s greatest bargains.

Selecting high school and college players in the MLB Draft is far from a perfect science. Projecting how 16-year-old international prospects are going to grow physically and mentally is even more of a crapshoot.

But for now the Braves have reason to be excited about the upsides of Cuban outfielder Diego Tornes, Dominican pitcher Raudy Reyes and Venezuelan infielder Angel Carmona, the most-hyped players they signed as part of this year’s international free-agent class.

Tornes, 16, is a 6-foot-2, 205-pound outfielder who ranks as the No. 15 international prospect in the 2025 class. He received a $2,497,500 signing bonus.

Tornes’ power potential was always visible, leading a lot of teams to project him to be a first baseman/outfielder/DH type. But Atlanta’s Latin American scouting director, Jonathan Cruz, began envisioning the slugger as an outfielder when he saw the young kid’s physical maturation and work ethic near the end of 2023.

“I saw Diego with a big sledgehammer, slamming at big truck tires and just sweating all over his body,” Cruz said. “You start dreaming and thinking, ‘All right, don’t give up on this kid yet.’ We just kept going back and we saw him get better consistently, and now we’re pretty confident he’s going to play center field.”

Tornes has above-average speed and the capability of being a true five-tool player.

“He's lean, he's athletic, he's got size, and his swing is pretty short for the levers that he has,” Cruz said. “We're pretty excited, and I think he's going to bring value the next couple years. It's going to be pretty exciting to see.

“This kid is something else.”

Reyes is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound right-hander whose fastball has already been clocked at 102 mph. Making this fact more ridiculous, this 16-year-old was barely old enough to qualify for this year’s signing class. He received a $1,797,500 signing bonus.

“He’s a unicorn,” Cruz said. “He has an idea of command, surprisingly enough. We’ve just got to get the control there for him.”

Paul Davis has done great work as the Braves’ director of pitching development. Getting a chance to work with this Reyes canvas should certainly be exciting. The young pitcher has incredible arm strength, but while serving as a starter over the next few years, he’ll learn secondary pitches, how to navigate lineups, his personal strengths and control. But for now he already has a weapon that could prove lethal if he learns to properly use it.

“The kid has a goal to be in the big leagues by 19 years old,” Cruz said. “So we’ll see how that all shapes out.”

What should be known about Carmona, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound infielder who received a $447,500 signing bonus?

“He's got very good upside,” Cruz said. "He's athletic. He's got a projectable large frame. He's a player that's got a chance to bring value [from] both sides. There's a lot of talent there that needs to be molded, but he fits that shortstop. He's got the range, he's got the arm, the glove works. His swing is the type of swing that covers the plate for some time. It's deep gaps right now. He's an aggressive hitter. He's got a lot of qualities that we'd like to get our hands [on]. He’s a very likable kid. Every time we brought him to the academy, he was probably one of the favorite kids the coaches put their hands on.”