I don’t think that there is a "clear group" at all. These are the youngest, most speculative of players. And these are the ones that ESPN and BA would have the least information about.

ESPN and BA don’t just pull these names out of a hat, they get their information from scouting directors and area scouts. So in essence you are arguing that the MLB teams don’t have a clue about these players, which I would seriously disagree with.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the best L.A. signing turns out to be someone who wasn’t on anyone’s top whatever list.

Maybe, maybe not. As I said in the previous post, baseball scouting is an inexact science. There have been times where the top signing ends up being the top player, and other times it doesn’t happen. However, this is similar to the MLB Draft, considering that the best player from a respective draft is very rarely the top player drafted.

First, Rany has said that the Royals Latin American spending last year was 7th in MLB. I don’t think that is a lack of international activity. Second, what is important is that the Royals sign the players they think are best, regardless of whether that is consistent with ESPN or BA’s rankings (based on the relatively little information they have on these kids).

I realize you claim Rany has said this, but again I’m almost certain he is confusing this with how much we spent on last year’s amateur draft, where we were 7th. I haven’t seen any list ranking last year’s total international bonuses, and I find it almost impossible to believe we went from essentially last to 7th in one year. That said, we did sign some nice players and made a good step forward.

On your second point, just like the BA and ESPN’s draft previews, they are getting this information from MLB scouts and using the overall information to develop rankings. Sure, Rene Francisco should sign the best players, but it sounds like in general MLB teams feel these are the top players. How would you react if the Royals took someone like Lance Lynn at #3 overall in this year’s draft, and then said they were just taking who they thought was the best guy available? You would be pissed, and rightfully so, because no one had him as a #3 overall pick. Thus, why are you just dismissing the consensus on this year’s international players?

They should spend a lot of money and get the players they think are best. Whether or not this is consistent with players on a ranking system is irrelevant. The Royals don’t need to sign any particular ranked player to signal anything.

I get what you’re saying, and I hope you understand that I’m not implying we should sign players simply because of where BA ranks them on a list. However, as I mentioned earlier, these lists are cultivated from discussions with all MLB teams. If you’re going to tell me we have a completely unique list that doesn’t include any of the players everyone else is talking about, then I would respond by saying we need a complete revamp of what we’re doing down there. Just because you and I don’t know these players by heart, doesn’t mean the international scouting directors don’t.

Listen, I’m not sayinig we should put all our eggs in one basket and go for one big signing – quantity is the key here. However, adding one impressive signing to a group like we signed last year would be huge, and signals are certainly important in this area of scouting. Top international players and their buscones want to sign with the top teams in the international space, not just random teams that have little history in the area. This is why many players don’t always take the highest offer, but instead sign with teams that have strong roots in their respective country.

Top signing up to this point is Jerico Blanco, toolsy OF from Venezuela. $300K bonus.