In 2019, the Marlins handed out their highest signing bonus in the international class to Jose Salas, the oldest of three brothers in the Salas clan. Grandfather, father and uncle all played professionally in Venezuela, making the family a known commodity.

Jose Sr., the boys¡¯ father, who had a brief Minor League spell, runs a complex in Venezuela where big leaguers go to train during the offseason. When Jose was dealt to Minnesota as part of the Luis Arraez/Pablo L¨®pez trade in January 2023, the organization was temporarily without a Salas in its ranks.

That¡¯s no longer the case.

The Marlins have agreed to terms with the youngest of the Salas brothers, Andrew Salas, making him the headliner of the club¡¯s 2025 international class. Salas ranks as the No. 5 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline, while the club has also signed the No. 40 prospect, right-handed pitcher Kevin Defrank.

¡°He's somebody that eats, sleeps, breathes baseball and was just kind of built in that way, seeing his older brothers, and again, like his family in general,¡± Marlins director of international scouting David Hernandez Beayne said. ¡°And so, from a makeup standpoint, from a competitive standpoint, from a work ethic standpoint and everything else, we're extremely excited about adding him to the system.¡±

Salas¡¯ deal is worth $3.7 million, while Defrank will receive $560,000, making him one of the highest-paid pitchers in the 2025 class. The club received $7.56 million in pool money -- tied for the most of any organization.

Salas, who was born in Florida before moving to Venezuela, is bilingual and grew up around the game, learning from his father and older brothers. His background has made him uber-competitive and driven, with some scouts believing he is the most athletically gifted of the brothers.

Having faced pro pitching from a young age in Venezuela, Salas has a well-trained eye at the dish. He features simple swing mechanics from both sides of the plate and often eschews power for a bat-to-ball approach, but with tremendous efficiency. Salas is one of just three players in his class to receive a 65-grade hit tool, a tick higher than his brother Ethan did as the No. 1 overall prospect in 2023 (60).

¡°We were very comfortable from the very beginning, getting to that agreement, understanding that because of his strong background and his strong development ties and his bloodlines in general, that he was going to be put in the best position, and we're seeing that right now,¡± Hernandez Beayne said.

Also working in Salas¡¯ favor is that he is the rare prospect with multiple potential long-term defensive homes, with the industry split on whether he¡¯d hold more value as a shortstop or center fielder. The Marlins intend to start Salas at shortstop.

In total, it¡¯s an exhilarating package. Or, as his older brother Ethan, MLB¡¯s No. 19 overall prospect, succinctly described back in October: ¡°He¡¯s a beast.¡±

Defrank ranks as one of the best pitching prospects to come from the D.R. in the past few seasons, and the fact that he¡¯ll be just 16 years old for the majority of his first pro year enhances scouts¡¯ excitement about his upside.

Already 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Defrank¡¯s fastball has been clocked as high as 96 mph, but he operates more in the 92-93 range during game action. His premier offering at this stage is his changeup, which gets terrific separation off his heater. He features a unique throwing motion, but most important at this stage is that it's fluid and he¡¯s able to repeat it consistently.

The Marlins are no strangers to tapping into the Dominican pitching market, having landed Eury P¨¦rez, Edward Cabrera and others in the past decade, in addition to acquiring Sandy Alcantara while he was still a prospect. Handing out hefty signing bonuses to pitchers isn¡¯t often seen when dealing with teenagers who still have a ways to go in terms of physical projection and feel for pitching, but Miami is exuberant about the combination of DeFrank¡¯s upside and their track record of bringing D.R. hurlers along.

¡°He's significantly more advanced than a lot of other guys, so he's got a really good foundation to begin with,¡± Hernandez Beayne said. ¡°He's been involved in our process, coaches are already fully aware of what he brings to the table, and are equally as excited to begin working with him and getting that process going. I think because he is so advanced in certain areas, he should put himself in a really good position for his talent to show up on the field. And again, I know that we have a really, really good support system that's going to give him everything necessary to ultimately become that impact player we think he can be.¡±

The Marlins¡¯ other signees are:

Anthony Abreu, SS (Dominican Republic) ¨C $550,000
Adri¨¢n Pe?a, RHP (Dominican Republic) ¨C $400,000
Johan Machado, SS (Venezuela) ¨C $330,000
Steven Herrera, SS (Dominican Republic) ¨C $125,000
Luis Arana, OF (Venezuela)
Edelson Canel¨®n, RHP (Venezuela)
Keyner Cede?o, LHP (Venezuela)
Diego Godoy, LHP (Venezuela)
Santiago Linares, RHP (Venezuela)
Diego Mart¨ªnez, C (Venezuela)
Pedro Montero, RHP (Dominican Republic)
Mois¨¦s Morales, C (Mexico)
Jes¨²s P¨¦rez, OF (Venezuela)
Isaac Prince, RHP (Dominican Republic)
Sandy Presbot, OF (Dominican Republic)

An international player is eligible to sign with a Major League team between Jan. 15 and Dec. 15. He must turn 16 before he signs and be 17 before Sept. 1 the following year.

That means players born between Sept. 1, 2007, and Aug. 31, 2008, will be eligible to sign in the current signing period. Players must be registered with Major League Baseball in advance to be eligible to sign.