Our national nightmare is now over. The White Sox have officially signed Cuban right-hander Norge Vera for $1.5 million. In addition to Vera, the franchise inked six others to deals on the international market as well.
Vera was ranked as the No. 15 overall prospect in the international class according to MLB Pipeline and he’s the best pitcher available in the marketplace as well. The son of Cuban legend Norge Luis Vera shows a 94-97 mph fastball with “emerging command” according to the publication. They’ve graded his fastball as a 60 grade offering with 55 grades on his slider and changeup. The website also notes that scouts like Vera’s “projectable body, arm action and calm demeanor on the mound.”
The 6-foot-4 185 pound right-hander defected in the summer of 2019 while Team Cuba was playing in the Can-Am League in New Jersey. He held a showcase last February.
The White Sox have scouted Vera for the past five years. Marco Paddy and his staff have seen him extensively over that period of time.
“From a baseball standpoint, he’s a very polished pitcher with three above-average pitches,” Paddy said on a conference call with reporters. “He has two of them right now in the fastball and slider and the changeup is something that he started throwing last year when he came to the Can-AM League. He started implementing the changeup. He’s a pretty advanced and mature young man.”
Paddy serves as an assistant to the general manager but he handles the bulk of the organization’s international scouting. It’s safe to say that Vera became a priority for the White Sox once he was cleared to sign.
“I liked his fastball and physical strength back in Thunder Bay,” Paddy said. “From Cuban baseball, we knew about the bloodlines. We saw him in Thunder Bay when he was a young kid and he was in the mid 80s, 86, 87 mph.
“He had a fearless approach. I saw him pitch in 45 degree weather and he handled it extremely well. He got physically stronger and the fastball has improved quite a bit. He was also three inches shorter then. Everything came together now.”
Landing Vera wasn’t a singular mission, however. Former Director of Amateur Scouting Doug Laumann, who is still in the organization, assisted Paddy with the evaluation of Vera.
Here at FutureSox we ranked Norge Vera 10th in the White Sox system in our recently released top 30 rankings. Publication rankings didn’t really sway Paddy at all though in relation to the athletic righty.
“The rankings are always personal opinion,” Paddy said. “Norge, in our eyes, ranked even higher than we’ve seen him. We know him, we know his history, we know his ability.”
The White Sox believe that Vera has lots of projection left and present stuff that will get even better. Vera indicated that the White Sox were attractive to him partly due to their rich history of success with Cuban players.
“I know the White Sox were a good organization with Cuban players and that made me feel comfortable,” Vera said via translator Billy Russo.
The right-hander doesn’t know any of the guys on the team but he’s aware of what has been happening in Chicago.
“I haven’t met any of the Cuban players but I know them from following the team,” Vera said while noting that he’s been following the team for the past couple of years.
Vera also stated that the past year has been pretty quiet. He’s been throwing and working out on his own and perfecting his changeup is the current objective. It was assumed that Vera would slot in similarly to recent prep draftees like Matthew Thompson and Andrew Dalquist, but his situation is a bit more tricky.
“To put a time clock on a guy’s development is kind of difficult because they have to adjust for the first time coming into professional baseball,” Paddy said. “But he’s very advanced and I think that he will determine how well he adjusts to professional baseball, how quickly he moves through our system. Obviously there’s levels that he’s got to go through and there’s adjustments that he’s got to make. But at the end of the day he has the ingredients to be a major league pitcher and that’s the most important thing that he shows you that at an early age, that he has the ability and he has the stuff.”
Vera will reportedly stay at the club’s complex in the Dominican Republic. The 20-year-old will participate in the Dominican Summer League in 2021 due to tax reasons. The league pushing back the international signing date six months puts players like Vera in an awkward situation. Had Vera been able to sign in July, he’d likely head straight to a full season affiliate. Because the signing didn’t become official until February, however, he’ll pitch the majority of his age 21 season in the Dominican Republic against much younger and inferior levels of competition. It’s an annoyance, but at least he’ll get to pitch, which is something many of these guys haven’t been able to do over the last year.
In addition to Vera and Yoelqui Cespedes, the White Sox announced the signings of six additional players on the international market. Victor Quezada, a 17-year-old Dominican, got the largest bonus of this group for something just north of $500,000. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound right-handed hitter profiles as a third baseman and possesses plus raw power. Like many kids playing in the Dominican, Quezada has played shortstop in the past but he’s since outgrown that position.
“We’ve scouted him since he was 14 years old,” Paddy said. “One thing that attracted us to Quezada was his easy power.”
White Sox international scouts believe that the teenager possesses a plus arm as well to stick at third base. He’s also an average runner. In discussing the move from shortstop to third, Paddy was pretty emphatic.
“He didn’t profile as a shortstop,” Paddy said. “He’s a big-boned kid, very strong, and doesn’t have the agility or lateral mobility for shortstop but he fits very well at third base and has big time power.”
The White Sox also inked three players from Venezuela and two from Paddy’s native Panama. Catcher Manuel Guariman, righty Adrian Gil and outfielder Dario Borrero are all 17-year-old Venezuelans.
Guariman is the most notable of the trio and he commanded a bonus near $500,000 as well. He’s 6-foot-1, almost 200 pounds and known as a power-hitting catcher. Marco Paddy and his staff have compared him to a young Salvador Perez.
“He’s an offensive catcher with a lot of power to any side of the field,” Paddy said. “He can really handle pitchers well and I think he’ll be a pleasant surprise.” Paddy said.
Borrero is a left-handed hitting outfielder that also plays first base. Paddy called him a very “interesting guy” due to his sheer size and athleticism.
“When we first saw him, he was like 6-foot-3, 175 pounds, now he’s 6-foot-5 and almost 200 pounds,” Paddy said.
The scouting director specifically mentioned the Venezuelan’s good swing and loads of power potential.
“The intriguing part about Borrero is he can handle pitchers and hit line to line,” Paddy said. “He goes the other way and can read the breaking ball.”
Paddy lauded the 17-year-old’s size and noted that it’s atypical for Venzuelans to be “that tall with that type of left-handed swing.”
Adrian Gil (pronounced Hill) is a 17-year-old righty from Barcelona, Venezuela. Paddy called Gil a “a real surprise” and noted that he’s trained by former White Sox pitcher Freddy Garcia.
“When we saw Adrian, we immediately noticed how advanced he is,” Paddy said. “He has a power fastball and has a body kind of like Kelvim Escobar; big, strong, with a very good breaking ball.”
The veteran scout also stated that Gil commands the zone very well for a teenage pitcher. The hurler will join a talented group of recently signed pitchers with the White Sox affiliate in the Dominican Summer League. Gil signed for $250,000.
Benyamin Bailey practically came out of nowhere as a low dollar signing out of Panama back in 2018. The White Sox added two more Panamanians in this year’s international class hoping to strike gold once again. Carlos Jimenez is a 19-year-old outfielder that hits and throws left-handed. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound outfielder has “lots of power” according to Paddy. He also said that he’s a “good athlete that runs well.” Carlos Hinestroza is an 18-year-old right-handed pitcher who will join the organization. Paddy noted that he has a “good arm, good body and a good projection.” Hinestroza is 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds.
“I am thrilled with the talent we were able to add to the organization during this international signing period,” Paddy said. “It was highlighted with the signings of Yoelqui Céspedes and Norge Vera — a right-handed pitcher with an outstanding fastball and who has shown promising secondary pitches — and capped off with six talented young players. I can not wait to see this group compete throughout the White Sox system.
“When you get an opportunity to combine Cuban players with experience to the younger kids we’re signing is a big plus. These are great additions to our system.”
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