Dodgers Prospect Notes: Two under-the-radar IFA signings

While the IFA signing period formerly began on July 2nd, it now begins on January 15th, and the hunt for talent never stops. Despite tying with Toronto for the smallest IFA bonus pool at $4.644 million, via Baseball America’s January 15th Signings Tracker, the Dodgers signed a whopping 31 prospects, which ranked third in all of MLB. And yet, they still managed to land seven more prospects this past July.

Information on international prospects is hit or miss, and as such, I only have info on two of the seven, but both are interesting in their own ways.

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Paris Johnson

Johnson, a 17-year-old outfielder from Nassau, Bahamas, has more of a stateside track record than you will typically see with an international signee, as he has participated in Perfect Game tournaments, and he trained at Cressey Sports Performance in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Listed at 6’2, 205 lbs, Johnson was formerly a two-way guy, but since having undergone Tommy John surgery, he is a position player only. Though he has shown some feel to hit in the aforementioned stateside action, his main calling card is power, with Perfect Game having his exit velo ranking in the 93rd percentile in his age group, and he has reportedly put on a show in batting practice since arriving at Campo Las Palmas, home of the Dodgers in the DR.

Defensively, Johnson’s arm has bounced back post-op to being average, which is also the case for his wheels, so a left field profile is likely, with first base/DH as the fallback scenario.

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Abel Lorenzo

Lorenzo, a 17-year-old catcher, was signed by the Dodgers out of Bani, Dominican Republic. Listed at 6’0, 170 lbs at the time of signing, the young Dominican is showing a good swing from the left side, as well as a bit of pop already:

Lorenzo was a shortstop as an amateur, so he’s a bit of a project behind the dish, but he comes with solid athletic marks, as he is light on his feet for a backstop and he possesses plus arm strength.

And, you know, the whole LHH catcher thing is always intriguing.

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As for the other five signees — RHP Jecsua Liborius, OF Jose Gonzalez, LHP Franderly Morel, C Jose Torrez, and RHP Marco Corcho — not much information has popped up just yet, apart from the typical photos of players sporting their future club’s gear long before signing. If I find anything out, you guys will as well.

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Enjoy your Thursday, folks.