MLB to host Venezuela-Dominican Republic Showcase for the first time

02/02/2012

Major League Baseball will, for the first time, launch a showcase that features top unsigned amateur prospects from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic competing against one another in front of scouts from all 30 Major League Clubs.

Major League Baseball will, for the first time, launch a showcase that features top unsigned amateur prospects from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic competing against one another in front of scouts from all 30 Major League Clubs.  The Venezuela-Dominican Republic Showcase is the third in a series of events featuring Dominican and Venezuelan amateurs, but the first to combine players from the two countries on the same field.  Showcase participants are expected to include the top 25 amateurs from each country.

The event will be held on February 3rd-4th in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic, at the academy of the New York Mets.  The scouts will have the opportunity to evaluate the bulk of top amateur Latin America baseball talent all at once, both in competition and in a series of professional-style workouts.  The participating amateurs will be eligible to sign professional contracts on or after this July 2nd.  In addition, seven-time All-Star David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox will spend an evening with the prospects speaking to them about the transition to becoming a professional baseball player.

Kim Ng, Major League Baseball’s Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations, said: “We are excited to gather in one place the top prospects from the two most prolific sources of baseball talent outside of the United States.”