New York Yankees 2020-21 International Signing Preview — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

This is part of Ben Badler’s 2020-21 international signing day preview. You can find the Yankees 2019 international signing class here. You can also find his international big board of 2020 prospects here.

The Yankees have been one of the most productive teams in Latin America over the last decade under international scouting director Donny Rowland, with homegrown signings Luis Severino, Gary Sanchez and Miguel Andujar all currently on the major league roster and Giovanny Gallegos emerging as one of the game’s better relievers in 2019. They have righthander Deivi Garcia, still prospect eligible as a Top 100 prospect, the No. 65 prospect in baseball) with 17 homegrown international signings among their Top 30 Prospects.

The Yankees will have a little less to spend than other teams, with a bonus pool that will drop by $1 million because they signed Gerrit Cole over the offseason. While the Yankees have typically made trades to acquire additional bonus pool space, they won’t be able to go that route this year, as the new agreement between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association in March eliminated the ability for teams to trade their pool space for the upcoming 2020-21 signing period that opens on Jan. 15.

Last year the Yankees’ international signing class was centered around Jasson Dominguez, who signed for $5.1 million. This year, the Yankees are expected to give a seven-figure bonus to Hans Montero, a well-rounded shortstop from the Dominican Republic who projects to stick at the position.

After Montero, the Yankees are also linked to Fidel Montero (no relation to Hans), an athletic Dominican outfielder with impressive raw tools who shows up-and-down game performance. The Yankees had been connected to Venezuelan catcher Jesus Galiz up until November, but he now appears headed to the Dodgers instead.

Two other players expected to join the Yankees’ class are Ramiro Altagracia, a Dominican outfielder, and Kleiner Delgado, a switch-hitting shortstop from Venezuela.