The International Signing Period, one of the best ways to get into the MLB, has officially opened for 2024. Some of the best stars in the MLB have picked up in this period such as Ronald Acuna Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Juan Soto.
To kick this period off, the San Diego Padres got the number one prospect by the name of Leo De Vries, a shortstop from the Dominican Republic, and also received a $4.2 million signing bonus. But the Padres didn’t even sign that many prospects, the team with the most signees with over a $300,000 signing bonus was the Tampa Bay Rays with 9 total prospects.
The crazy part about this all is that these kids are only 16-17 years old! These kids are receiving over 300,000 dollars to sign with a professional baseball team.
The fact that these kids are only 16 and 17 years old and are getting paid to play the game they love, is insane. This period does not happen in any other of the four main professional leagues, NBA, NFL, and NHL.
Roughly 75 percent of these signees come from the Dominican Republic, which has been known as a powerhouse when it comes to international stars. There are so many current and retired stars that have come out of the DR such as now Hall of Famers Adrian Beltre, Vladimir Guerrero, David “Big Papi” Ortiz, and current stars such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Julio Rodriguez and Manny Machado.
The signing period closes on December 15th, 2024, so there are many more opportunities for these international kids to show off their talents to MLB scouts. This next generation of MLB starts, is going to be one like never before.
