Reds sign Cuban outfielder Reydel Medina.

[Gallen5862]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

The Reds have signed 20-year-old Cuban outfielder Reydel Medina for a $400K bonus, according to a release from the Dominican Prospect League. Baseball America's Ben Badler confirms the signing, noting that Medina is a left-handed hitter with a quick bat, projectable power and above-average times in the 60-yard dash. Some scouts are concerned about his crude approach at the plate, according to Badler. Medina's signing counts against the Reds' international bonus pool because he is under 23 years of age and does not have three years of professional experience.

[Gallen5862]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/inter...raydel-medina/

The Reds have signed 20-year-old Cuban outfielder Raydel Medina for $400,000.

Medina played for the Cuban youth national team at the 16U World Championship in Taiwan in 2009, a tournament that also included Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor, Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor and Red Sox shortstop Tzu-Wei Lin. Media performed well at the tournament, hitting .444/.516/.852 over seven games, going 12-for-27 with a homer, two triples, four doubles, four walks and three strikeouts. He ranked second on the Cuban team in slugging and OPS, behind only Guillermo Aviles.

At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, Medina runs above-average times in the 60-yard dash. He’s a lefthanded hitter with a quick bat and projectable power, although there are concerns among some scouts about his crudeness at the plate despite his performance at the World Championship. Given how little time is left in the 2013 season, Medina might not make his debut until next year, at which point he’ll probably start in one of the lower levels of the system, perhaps low Class A Dayton.

[klw]

Video

http://youtube.com/watch?v=O_2PEoyss...%3DO_2PEoyss8A

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-8xFQkaRO...%3D-8xFQkaROO0

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LTpxnAkpR...%3DLTpxnAkpR9o

[PepperJack]

I hope he pans out, and uses this for his walk-up music.

Plus obvious nickname.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OP5EnaaYjQ

[OnBaseMachine]

I'm surprised this hasn't gotten more responses. This is a pretty exciting signing, IMO. The scouting report on the kid sounds good. Cuban players have a solid track record of panning out lately. Chapman, Puig, Escobar, Cespedes, the kid Soler from the Cubs. Yeah, he's not as hyped as all of them but they all had question marks too. With a package consisting of great speed, bat speed, and power potential, it sounds like a great signing for $400,000.

[Benihana]

I'm surprised this hasn't gotten more responses. This is a pretty exciting signing, IMO. The scouting report on the kid sounds good. Cuban players have a solid track record of panning out lately. Chapman, Puig, Escobar, Cespedes, the kid Soler from the Cubs. Yeah, he's not as hyped as all of them but they all had question marks too. With a package consisting of great speed, bat speed, and power potential, it sounds like a great signing for $400,000.

I'm excited because I like to see the Reds making moves on the international market. That said, there isn't a great track record for the international guys that aren't top 10, seven-figure bonus type guys.

Sure, Cespedes, Puig, Soler and Chapman have all worked out well, but they were all signing deals for $50M+. This guy signed for $400K. The last couple international (including Cuban) guys the Reds signed for that amount were Felix Perez, Humberto Valor and Oviel Florentino. Not exactly earth shatterers.

Of course, going back a ways further, a guy like Johnny Cueto signed for $25K once upon a time. So of course, you never know...

[RedTeamGo!]

I have no idea what I am talking about, but it seems like he doesn't have very strong legs and will not be able to generate much power. I am probably very wrong.

[klw]

nm

[lollipopcurve]

I'm excited because I like to see the Reds making moves on the international market. That said, there isn't a great track record for the international guys that aren't top 10, seven-figure bonus type guys.

Sure, Cespedes, Puig, Soler and Chapman have all worked out well, but they were all signing deals for $50M+. This guy signed for $400K. The last couple international (including Cuban) guys the Reds signed for that amount were Felix Perez, Humberto Valor and Oviel Florentino. Not exactly earth shatterers.

Of course, going back a ways further, a guy like Johnny Cueto signed for $25K once upon a time. So of course, you never know...

Agreed all the way. What I find interesting is that their last 3 big Latin signees -- Constante, Tejada and Medina have been at least 19 at the time they signed. They seem to be shying away from the younger kids. May be a coincidence -- only time will tell.

[RedlegJake]

Agreed all the way. What I find interesting is that their last 3 big Latin signees -- Constante, Tejada and Medina have been at least 19 at the time they signed. They seem to be shying away from the younger kids. May be a coincidence -- only time will tell.

I agree. Not sure it is a coincidence - they gave a ton of money to get Duran and YRod really young and the results have been underwhelming to this point (notwithstanding their recent upticks). Maybe they feel older prospects give them a better handle on scouting potential - and maybe its just that they are cheaper (given the new restrictions). Likely a combination of both.

[dougdirt]

I agree. Not sure it is a coincidence - they gave a ton of money to get Duran and YRod really young and the results have been underwhelming to this point (notwithstanding their recent upticks). Maybe they feel older prospects give them a better handle on scouting potential - and maybe its just that they are cheaper (given the new restrictions). Likely a combination of both.

With pitchers in general, it seems that baseball has taken a step back in signing as many 16 and 17 year olds. While some of those guys still get signed, teams are waiting a little longer on the whole with pitchers over the past 3 years or so.

[krm1580]

I agree. Not sure it is a coincidence - they gave a ton of money to get Duran and YRod really young and the results have been underwhelming to this point (notwithstanding their recent upticks). Maybe they feel older prospects give them a better handle on scouting potential - and maybe its just that they are cheaper (given the new restrictions). Likely a combination of both.

That's probably a good point. You think about all the data that is available on 18 year old high school kids in the US and it is pretty much hit and miss with whether they pan out or not. You take kids that are even younger, with less coaching, who knows what type of upbringing and its gotta be a complete crapshoot.

They are probably almost better of signing a bunch of low dollar guys and see if anything shakes out.

[OnBaseMachine]

Reds scouts have been watching the 20-year-old Medina play in the Dominican Republic.

"Our people did a good job getting many looks at him and project him to Major League average to above average on five tools," said Bill Bavasi, Reds vice president of scouting, player development and international operations.

Medina will come to the United States to play as soon as he receives his visa.

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/...k_cin&c_id=cin

[RedlegJake]

Excited to see what Medina can do. Added to the Hamilton/Winker/YRod/Ervin mix could the Reds be looking at an exceptional class of outfield prospects in a year or two?

[OnBaseMachine]

Medina was born February 14, 1993, is 6´2¨ and 198lb. There isn´t much physical projection in the 20 yr. old, he has a muscular toned well-proportioned mature body. He trained in Santiago at the Mikalo Bermudez Baseball Complex with Aldo Marrero who also signed catcher Onil Peña on July 2nd this year with the Seattle Mariners for $385,000.

During Medina´s participation in the DPL he showed an advanced hit tool and plus raw power. He combines a solid tool set across the board. The left hand hitter has a good approach and strike zone judgment. He´s an above average runner in the 60 yard dash posting 6.6-6.7 times at frequent workouts, he possess average to plus arm strength and average defensive skills.

- See more at: http://dplbaseball.com/dpl-news/cuba....qpzceWLB.dpuf

Bumping an older thread, but I really like what I hear about this guy. I think this kid has a chance to be a pretty solid player. It wouldn't surprise me if he jumps into the Reds top 10 or 15 prospects after the 2014 season.