First there was Yoenis Cespedes. Then came Yasiel Puig, followed by Jose Abreu and Rusney Castillo. Yasmany Tomas is the latest to take the MLB by storm, and now it looks like another Cuban defector will be attracting suitors in the coming weeks. His name is Yoan Moncada and he's 19 years old.
Moncada's talents were documented by Ben Badler of Baseball America back in August. Due to the recent influx of Cuban stars, the scouting of such players has now become almost the same process as it is in the United States. Moncada's talents are compared to those of fellow Cubans Jorge Soler, Rusney Castillo and Yasmany Tomas, all of whom are in the MLB. The demand for Moncada might be even greater than most Cuban players because he's a 19-year-old switch-hitting middle infielder.
Here's an idea of how good the youngster is:
"In 2012-13, Moncada made his Serie Nacional debut for Cienfuegos, where he was teammates with White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu and Dodgers shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena. Moncada performed well for a 17-year-old, hitting .283/.414/.348 in 172 plate appearances with 13 stolen bases in 18 attempts," writes Badler. "Moncada also made his mark at the league's all-star game, where Cuba holds certain skill competitions in addition to a home run derby. Among the events are races to first base and around the bases. At the 2012-13 all-star game, Moncada won both races, beating Castillo, a 70 runner on the 20-80 scale, and Guillermo Heredia, a 60 runner who started in center field in the 2013 World Baseball Classic." He was also the best player in Cuba's 16U and 18U national leagues.
However, it's unknown when Moncada can become a free agent. He's established residency in Guatemala, which is where he will hold a showcase for all 30 MLB teams on November 12. He's currently petitioning the MLB to become a free agent and will need to receive an unblocking license from the U.S. government in order to be subjected to the international bonus pools (because he is under 23 and has not played in a Cuban professional league for at least five seasons). This means that if the MLB declares him a free agent before June 15, he'll be eligible to sign with any team (except the Cubs and Rangers because of their international bonus signings in recent years). But if he's not cleared until after that, no team can sign him until the new signing period begins on July 2, and some teams (Yankees, Red Sox and Rays) will be ineligible to sign him because they've hit the maximum penalty range for their international bonus pools during the 2014-2015 period. This means they cannot sign a player for a bonus of more than $250,000 in the following signing period (2015-2016).
Because of his age and all-around ability, Moncada is regarded as the top prospect in Cuba. As a result, he's likely to draw a lot of attention from MLB scouts due to the dearth of middle infield talent in the league. It'll be interesting to see if the youngster is made available before the June 15 signing deadline because the Yankees could then be a front-runner for his services.
