JULY 28th: The Mariners officially signed Hernandez, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America (on Twitter). The M’s also confirmed the signing, tweets Bob Dutton of The News Tribune.
JULY 2nd: The Mariners have agreed to terms with top international prospect Brayan Hernandez, tweets Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com. Hernandez, a 16-year-old outfielder from Venezuela, will receive a $1.85MM bonus, per Sanchez.
A switch-hitter, Hernandez ranked No. 8 on MLB.com’s list of top international amateurs and third on Baseball America’s version of the same list. Sanchez, BA’s Ben Badler and Scout.com’s Kiley McDaniel have all connected the Mariners to Hernandez in the past, with McDaniel making the link all the way back in February.
Badler called Hernandez one of the most well-rounded players and best athletes in this year’s class. He has the potential to hit 15 to 20 homers with slightly above-average speed but a below-average throwing arm, per Badler. Sanchez calls him a contact hitter with a balanced setup that could improve quickly upon getting into regular games, due to a natural swing and strong hand-eye coordination.
I don’t get it. MLB has him as a 35 runner with a really powerful arm and Badler has him with “above-average speed but a below-average throwing arm.”
Either the jury is out or someone made a mistake