The Padres have made their first signing since the beginning of the international signing period, agreeing to a deal with Dominican center fielder Yoan Alcantara.

Alcantara, a 16-year-old from San Cristobal, is a good athlete with plus speed and a plus arm.

The Royals have signed Cheslor Cuthbert, a power-hitting third baseman from Nicaragua. Scouts have told BA that they believe Cuthbert received a seven-figure bonus, which would be a record for a Nicaraguan player.

Cuthbert, 16, stands out at the plate, where he shows above-average bat speed and power.

We’ve already reported that the Astros signed 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Yonathan Mejia. The Astros have since officially announced four more international signings:

• Alexander Martinez, a 16-year-old righthander from Nicaragua

• Kilby Pena, a 17-year-old lefthander from the Dominican Republic

• Enderson Franco, a 17-year-old righthander from Venezuela

• Luca Martone, a 16-year-old infielder from Italy

Reds scouting director Chris Buckley confirmed to BA correspondent John Fay that the Reds have signed 16-year-old Venezuelan shortstop Humberto Valor. More later.

Scouting Europe is nothing new for the Twins. Their latest addition is 16-year-old German outfielder Max Kepler, who several scouts have said is the best European prospect to come along in years.

The exact bonus isn’t known, but there is talk that Kepler’s bonus could be the highest in European history, which is believed to be the $800,000 the Twins gave lefthander Alexander Smit from the Netherlands in 2002. Kepler has a San Francisco-based agent, Paul Cobbe of Sosnick-Cobbe Sports.

Kepler, who is 6-foot-4, 180 pounds, has been attending a private school and training at an academy in Regensburg, Germany. One scout said Kepler could have five average or better tools in the future.

"Kepler is the toolsiest kid we’ve ever had in Europe," said the scout. "No question."

Baseball America subscribers can read more about Kepler.

The Phillies have signed Lino Martinez, a 6-foot lefthander from Venezuela. Martinez, 16, throws 86-88 mph with good feel for a changeup. Martinez’s breaking ball is a work in progress, but he has some athleticism and a good delivery.

Martinez signed for $325,000, a comparable bonus to what the Phillies gave Dominican outfielder Domingo Santana earlier this year. Santana is currently in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League.

Two newspapers in the Dominican Republic are reporting that the Mariners have signed Dominican outfielder Guillermo Pimentel. ESPN’s Jorge Arangure confirmed the signing with Pimentel’s trainer, saying the bonus was for the long-rumored $2 million that Pimentel was expected to receive.

Pimentel, 16, was one of the best hitters available on the market thanks to a short swing and plus-plus power potential. Pimentel’s $2 million bonus is so far the third-highest thus far for a Latin American player behind Cardinals outfielder Wagner Mateo ($3.1 million) and Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez ($3 million). The Rangers were believed to also have strong interest in Pimentel.

As you’ve seen, we have confirmation of several major signings on the first day of the international signing period.

However, most signings have either not been officially announced or will wait until after July 2 to commence as the market sorts itself out. There will be more signings tomorrow that either the teams will officially announce or that we will report here on the BA Prospects blog if we feel confident enough in our information to report what we are hearing.

As for all the e-mails about Miguel Sano: No, he has not signed. Not yet, anyway.

Here’s a recap of signings from today that we can confirm:

• The Cardinals signed Dominican outfielder Wagner Mateo for $3.1 million, a franchise record for an amateur signing bonus and the largest bonus ever given to a Latin American hitter. Mateo is an advanced hitter with a power bat.

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We have another signing to report for the Yankees, who have agreed to terms with Dominican shortstop Damian Arredondo.

Arredondo, 16, stands out in the field with plus-plus speed, a plus arm and plus hands. Arredondo is one of three confirmed signings today for the Yankees. The Yankees also signed Dominican catcher Gary Sanchez for $3 million and Dominican righthander Christopher Cabrera for $400,000.

The Blue Jays have signed Santiago Nessy, a 16-year-old catcher from Venezuela.

Nessy, who is 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, is from La Victoria. Nessy has drawn praise from some scouts for his power-hitting potential.