There’s no more perilous endeavor in baseball than the scouting of 18-year-old high school players, trying to determine who is going to develop into major leaguers and who isn’t. Well, aside from the scouting of 16-year-old Latin American prospects, who have the ability to sign for millions of dollars long before anyone truly knows their chances for professional success.
Victor Rodriguez has been scouting these players for a decade and a half, first for the Red Sox and then for the Rays. Now the newly promoted director of international scouting for the Nationals, Rodriguez on Wednesday was tasked with officially signing his first class of Latin American teenagers.
How does he differentiate between one 16-year-old and another? How can he tell who’s going to make it and who probably won’t at such a young age?
“We try to keep it as simple as possible,” Rodriguez said. “Basically, don’t ignore the obvious here. The big leaguers, they stick out. Hitters stick out. Guys that throw strikes. … We use as much information as we can, but also not lose our instincts as scouts. That’s mainly how I try to simplify it. From a young age, I’ve been able to scout guys that have reached the big leagues. And one thing that always sticks out is: A hitter hits, and a pitcher throws strikes.”
Rodriguez and the Nationals hope as many of the 14 players they signed Wednesday as possible fit that criteria and find their way to Washington in due time. Two, though, stand out from the crowd and were deemed worthy of seven-figure signing bonuses.
