Baseball's international signing period is officially underway

It’s July 2nd, and while some fans may be focusing on hot dogs and fireworks during this holiday weekend, other fans are going to be glued to the internet and any other source of news that they rely on, because baseball’s international signing period has officially begun. This means that the groundwork for the next potential generation of international baseball stars is currently being laid as we speak.

There’s already been plenty of activity and the first day of the period has only just begun. The Braves are expected to be major players during this year’s period, and they’ll more than likely end up landing the big fish in this year’s pond — Kevin Maitan. Scouts have been raving about the 16-year-old Venezuelan for a while now, and it’s to the point where he’s been receiving comparisons to none other than Braves legend Chipper Jones. That’s a very lofty comparison, to say the least.

Meanwhile, the Oakland A’s have apparently made a splash by signing 17-year-old Cuban prospect Lazaro "Lazarito" Armenteros. Lazarito has been the source of plenty of speculation and hype since his defection from Cuba, so the fact that the A’s won these particular sweepstakes is a big deal. Granted, it’s best to temper your expectation for most of these prospects since — in the best case scenario — it’ll be a few years before we see these kids play at the major league level. Still, it’s hard not to get excited about potential impact signings, and that’s what most of baseball has in mind as this year’s international signing period begins.

• Unfortunately for the Red Sox, they won’t be participating in this year’s international period because MLB has banned them following an investigation of their actions in last season’s period.


• Meanwhile, 32-year-old Cuban free agent Yulieski Gourriel has begun working out for teams, with the Houston Astros being one of them.


• It took 19 innings, six hours, multiple position players pitching for the Jays, and Trevor Bauer throwing five innings on his day off, but Cleveland eventually won their franchise-record 14th straight game.


• Bud Norris made his debut with the Dodgers on Friday night and he picked up right where he left off with the Braves.


• The Dodgers got even more good news on the pitching front when it was announced that Brandon McCarthy will be making his big league return on Sunday.


• However, the injury woes of the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks in the NL West have definitely helped the Giants in their quest for further even-year success.


• The crew at Beyond the Box Score is trying to figure out why MLB is being so reluctant about paying their minor leaguers.


• Last night, we had the annual occurrence of a kid throwing a foul ball back onto the field after receiving it as a souvenir.


• Ervin Santana tried to smell out a steal attempt from Ian Desmond with a fake throw to second base. Desmond didn’t think that the fake throw was on target.


• Jose Fernandez will be starting today against the Braves, but he actually hit a pinch-hit RBI double to put Miami ahead for good last night.