Friday, August 20, 2010
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/
Dejan Kovacevic/Post-Gazette
Luis Heredia pitches in an international tournament for players aged 15-16 last Thursday in Mazatlan, Mexico.
The Pirates, after years of falling short in Latin America, finally got their big prize.
In the wee hours of Thursday morning, the team agreed to terms with Mexican pitching prospect Luis Heredia, 16, on a $2.6 million bonus, by far the biggest payout in franchise history for an international amateur.
In Mexico, the team owning the players' rights keeps 75 percent of the bonus -- Veracruz, in Heredia's case -- with the other 25 percent going to the player. Heredia passed a team-prescribed physical when whisked in and out of Pittsburgh Wednesday, all aspects of the agreement were completed, and a formal signing ceremony has been planned for Tuesday in Mazatlan, Mexico, Heredia's hometown.
That $2.6 million, plus the $8.75 million paid to top two draft picks Jameson Taillon ($6.5 million) and Stetson Allie ($2.25 million) earlier in the week, means the team will have paid a total of $11.35 million to add three elite teenaged right-handers to the system.
"It's a great day for the Pittsburgh Pirates to add a player and a person like Luis," Rene Gayo, the Pirates' Latin American scouting director said. "We consider him to be the best arm in Latin America."
General manager Neal Huntington declined to comment at length on Heredia Thursday because the signing still is pending, and the Latin American process can take extra time because of age and identity verification. But he did say that the current class will not end with the 18 signed so far.
"Ultimately, we can continue to add," Huntington said. "We've got the flexibility to be able to do that. It's not just Luis Heredia, but we can continue to add a deep and talented international class. ... The Pirates are committed to returning to our deep roots and having a strong presence in Latin America, and the addition of Luis further demonstrates that."
The previous high for the Pirates in the international amateur market was $400,000 for Venezuelan outfielder Exicardo Cayones in July 2008. The team had made other seven-figure offers, notably a $3.5 million offer to Cuban third baseman Dayan Viciedo, before he signed with the Chicago White Sox in late 2008 for $4 million, and a $2.6 million offer for Dominican shortstop Miguel Sano, before he signed with the Minnesota Twins last summer for $3.15 million.
According to Baseball America, Heredia's bonus was the largest for a Mexican amateur from a Major League Baseball team, and it was tied for the fifth-highest for any international amateur. The record was the $4.25 million from the Oakland Athletics to Dominican pitcher Michael Ynoa in 2008.
Several other major league teams had pursued Heredia, but the Pirates long ago established a firm relationship with the player, his family and the Veracruz officials who had the final say. Moreover, by all accounts, the Pirates' offer was competitive.
Heredia, 6 feet 6, 185 pounds, is considered by many scouts to be his country's best pitching prospect in years. He turned 16 -- the age at which major league teams can sign international players -- Aug. 10, but the Mexican Baseball League sought a delay on offers for Heredia until after the majors' deadline to sign drafted players passed early Tuesday.
No significant statistics are available on Heredia, largely because the Pirates advised his activity over the past year and he pitched mostly in exhibitions each Sunday.
Heredia's strongest trait is unusually high velocity for his age -- he sat at 92-93 mph on his fastball during an Aug. 12 tournament game in Mazatlan -- as well as four other pitches and uncommon coordination for someone who sprouted so tall at a young age.
"When you look at Luis pitch, you don't see someone you think is tall," said Jesus "Chino" Valdez, the Pirates' Mexican scouting supervisor. "Everything moves very easily."
Of the fastball, Huntington said, "The ball comes out of his hand easily. We project more velocity as he matures because of his body, the age, the athlete, the ease of how the arm works. ... he's got a lot of the traits where you project increased velocity."
In an interview with the Post-Gazette Aug. 12 in Mazatlan, Gayo had expressed guarded optimism that an agreement would be struck, even though the high-spending New York Yankees were among the most aggressive of the other pursuers.
"We believe in the work that we've done, we believe in the commitment we've gotten from back in Pittsburgh, and we believe, most of all, in Luis," Gayo said then.
Gayo's confidence was founded partly in the team's offer being competitive but mostly in having forged close ties with Heredia and Veracruz.
On the player level: Valdez had known Heredia since he was 5 and became like a father figure to him in recent years. Valdez spent roughly three-quarters of his time in the past year working directly with Heredia, and Gayo, too, spent extensive time in western Mexico.
On the team level: Gayo has known Jose Antonio Mansur, owner of Veracruz, for two decades. And it was Gayo who accompanied Heredia through the process of having his amateur rights purchased by Veracruz on the first day eligible -- Jan. 1, 2010 -- with an understanding that the Pirates ultimately wished to buy those rights.
In Mazatlan, Heredia and his mother, Maria de Jesus Orosco, spoke glowingly of Gayo and Valdes.
"Thank God they came into my life," Heredia said last week through a translator. "They're good men, honest men."
Asked how much he knew about the Pirates, Heredia laughed and replied, "Just Roberto Clemente."
Gayo said at the time that, if Heredia were signed, he likely would report to the Pirates' rookie team in Bradenton, Fla., rather than the team's new baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, as Heredia spent most of his amateur career competing against players 3-4 years older. That decision will be made by Huntington and director of player development Kyle Stark.
Dejan Kovacevic: dkovacevic@post-gazette.com.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10232/1081341-63.stm#ixzz0x8pnOMSO
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