Atlanta Braves 2024 International Review
The Braves entered 2024 with a $5.925 million bonus pool and put $5 million into signing one of the elite players available. While the overall volume of players in their signing class was lower than most teams, they came away with a premium talent, along with other intriguing potential power bats and a sleeper on the mound.
Top Of The Class
Shortstop Jose Perdomo received the highest bonus of any international player in the 2024 class when he signed for $5 million, a record for a player born in Venezuela. He’s on the 60-day injured list right now and rehabbing a hamstring injury at Atlanta’s complex in Florida, so he will miss the start of the Dominican Summer League season, but he immediately became one of the organization’s top young position prospects when he signed. He was an early standout in the class, going back to a big showcase in Florida with catcher Ethan Salas, who signed with the Padres in 2023.
Perdomo’s offensive game has been his main draw. He’s 5-foot-11, 180 pounds at 17 with Impressive offensive polish, starting with a short, direct swing. He takes an efficient path to the ball and has good hand-eye coordination, recognizing pitches well with good plate coverage and a high contact rate against both fastballs and soft stuff. Perdomo has gotten stronger and with it has come more explosiveness to his bat speed, so while he’s not an imposing physical specimen, he has a chance to have a balance of both hitting ability and power.
A lot of scouts who watched Perdomo early had him ticketed for a future at second or third base, and while he’s not a surefire shortstop long term, his defensive progress since then has given him a greater chance to remain at the position. He’s a tick above-average runner who has maintained his body well, enhancing his lateral agility and showing an above-average arm. It’s an all-around skill set that has drawn comparisons to Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres, who was the top signing from Venezuela in 2013.
Names To Know
Juan Espinal, OF, Dominican Republic: Espinal has a strong but lean, athletic build at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds with big tools that he’s still learning to refine. Signed at 17 for $440,000, Espinal has raw power that grades out at least plus and could be a 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale. He’s a righthanded hitter who can destroy the ball when he finds the sweet spot, but it comes with swing-and-miss that he will have to cut down on against better pitching. Espinal is a solid-average runner who could see time in center field, though he likely fits better in a corner. He should be able to handle right field with a plus arm that could also end up a 70 tool as he gets stronger.
Michael Martinez, OF, Dominican Republic: Martinez signed in April for $155,000 as another 17-year-old outfielder with big power. He’s 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, making loud contact from the right side with big bat speed and a power-over-hit profile and some promising early signs of being able to get into his power against live pitching. He’s an average runner with a strong arm that should fit in right field.
Manuel Dos Passos, C, Venezuela: The Braves signed Dos Passos, 17, for $130,000. He’s a wiry 5-foot-10, 165 pounds and an athletic mover behind the dish. He’s a vocal leader with a plus arm and a defense-first profile as a righthanded hitter with solid bat-to-ball skills for his age.
Sleeper Watch
The Braves have one DSL team and put most of their pool money into Perdomo, so they have one of the smaller signing classes in the league. One arm to watch among their lower dollar signings is Anferni Gonzalez, who got $60,000. He’s a projectable 6-foot-4, 195 pounds at 17 with a fastball up to 94 mph with potentially more velocity coming and a tight slider in the low-80s.
