Tigers sign high-profile Dominican prospect

Tigers sign high-profile Dominican prospect
| 07/04/11 10:01 PM ET

ANAHEIM -- The Tigers have tended to shy away from big-money signings of international players during the July 2 signing period, preferring to spread out their money over several signings rather than put all their all hopes on one or two players. With Dominican third baseman Adelin Santa, however, they saw an exception.

"We have been scouting him for over a year, especially our area scout, Carlos Santana," Tigers international operations director Tom Moore said in a phone interview Monday afternoon.

What they saw was a potential strong-bat, strong-arm third baseman. So did other clubs, especially once the 16-year-old started playing in higher-profile leagues for teenage prospects in the Dominican Republic, such as the International Prospects League. So to sign him, they ended up paying one of their larger bonuses in recent years -- $750,000, according to Baseball America's Ben Badler.

The Tigers confirmed the signing over the weekend. They also signed Venezuelan shortstop Steven Fuentes and Dominican right-hander Emanuel Chavez.

Santa is by far the biggest of the signings. With a 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame and comparisons to Adrian Beltre, at least in style of play, if not potential, Santa ranked among Baseball America's top international targets. The Beltre comparisons come primarily from his skill set, with a power bat and a strong arm.

"Those are the two things that he definitely brings to the table," Moore said. "[Power] was one of the things that really interested us. It wasn't just BP power. He showed it in games."

The signing raised some eyebrows and prompted speculation that Detroit has more money to spend on international players than in past years because they won't have to spend as much on bonuses in the Draft, since they didn't have a first-round pick. However, Moore said the budgets are separate, and that it would be unfair to expected an off year on one end would coincide with a bumper crop on the other. It's a projection game, and history has shown it's a difficult one at that, so sometimes the odds improve with numbers.

Fuentes is a more classic example of the Tigers' international scouting legwork -- lower risk, potentially higher reward. Moore said the teenager rates as a speedy runner and good defender with a strong arm and quick hands, plus a body frame to grow into as he matures.

"He's a kid we're pretty excited about, because he's an athletic kid," Moore said.

He has not played in a lot of organized games, Moore said, which limited his exposure. But the Tigers project him with upside once he gets into that kind of setting.

Chavez is a 6-foot-3, 185-pounder whom the Tigers believe has the chance to develop into a power pitcher once he gets into more athletic training. His fastball has topped out at 90-91 mph in some games, while sitting around 86-87 mph more often.

Moore compared him with Brenny Paulino, a lanky right-hander the Tigers signed out of the Dominican a couple of years ago. After throwing in the mid-80s then, he raised eyebrows by hitting the mid-90s in the Dominican Summer League. He recently made his debut for the Tigers' Gulf Coast League team.

"One of the things that really impressed us with him is his mound presence," Moore said. "He's really a good competitor."

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.