Venezuelan shortstop, catcher highlight Nats' international class

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.

Shortstop Brayan Cortesia (who reportedly received $1.92 million) and catcher Daniel Hernandez ($1.1 million) headlined this year’s class, a pair of Venezuelan teenagers who impressed Rodriguez and his crew with their natural talents and some intangibles qualities that could help them grow into big leaguers.

Cortesia was rated the 16th best international prospect by Baseball America, with Hernandez not far behind him at No. 18. The former just turned 17 in November, the latter won’t turn 17 until February. Neither is likely to be knocking on the door at Nationals Park for years to come, but the organization hopes each makes a quick impact in the Dominican Summer League before ultimately coming to the United States in 2026.

“Cortesia is a guy we believe is a five-tool player who can play shortstop,” Rodriguez said. “Very exciting. Physical upside. Above-average athlete who is going to be an above-average runner. Pretty much all the tools across the board are above-average, with a chance to hit for power.”

Hernandez, meanwhile, transitioned from third base to catcher recently, a move that made the Nationals like his prospects even more than they did before.

“What separates him is makeup,” Rodriguez said. “But what really separates him is his bat. We really believe highly in this bat. … And at the end of the day, if you’re going to make that type of conversion to that type of position, you’ve got to have makeup. You’ve got to love the position and have some leadership skills. And we believe Daniel Hernandez has that.”

Cortesia and Hernandez combined to take up about $3 million of the Nats’ total bonus allotment of $6.261 million. The rest went to 12 more players, including Dominican second baseman Ronny Bello, rated 98th in this international class by Baseball America.

Bello is one of six Dominicans who signed with the Nationals, joining catcher Junior Castillo, shortstops Marconi German and Adrian Tusen, outfielder Esnaider Vargas and right-hander Juan Lopez.

Cortesia and Hernandez are two of eight Venezuelan players who signed Wednesday. The others: catcher Edgardo Figueroa, outfielder Jonierbis Garces, right-handers Jesus Carrasco, Manuel Ruiz and Jhondel Salas and left-hander Hernan Mejia.