On July 2nd the Cincinnati Reds signed eight players to kick off their international signing period. And they went big, too, spending over $4M on the first day – including two different 7-figure signings. They’ve added three more signings since then.
Ray-Jacson Chirino signed out of Curacao (he’s listed as Ray-Jackson Chirino some placed). He’s a 16-year-old corner outfielder/first baseman. He played in the Senior League World Series last year., which is essentially the “older” version of the Little League World Series. He also participated in the RBI program in Curacao, where their website had him listed at 6′ 1″ and 195 lbs. He’s made big improvements in the last 6-8 months, showing steps forward in his speed and arm strength. He can really hit right now – has a chance to play in the corner outfield or first base.
Quick Scouting report on Ray-Jacson Chirino
He’s a big, strong kid who is a corner outfielder/first baseman type. Could have an average arm in the future. Slightly below-average runner. The guy just hits. He will need to stay on top of his size in order to maintain his athleticism in the future.
Quick Scouting Report on Andruw Salcedo
A switch-hitting catcher, Andruw Salcedo has a chance to be a strong defensive catcher down the line. He’s got a potentially plus arm that would play well behind the plate and he shows strong leadership qualities. He trained with former Major Leaguer (and Cincinnati Reds) Orlando Cabrera.
Quick Scouting Report on Juan Garcia
Right-handed hitter. Bat is ahead of the glove at this point. Makes hard contact and drive the ball to all parts of the field. Defensively he shows feel behind the plate, but will need to clean up some things back there. Has a potentially plus arm behind the plate. He also trained in Colombia with Orlando Cabrera.
Adding to the signing class
The Reds are now officially at 11 players signed in their International Signing Class of 2019 so far. The first eight players that signed on July 2nd were written up the other day, and you can read about all of them here. With this group of players, the Reds have now spent over $4.3M of their pool, which is just over $5.9M.