The Phillies once signed a young second baseman out of Panama. He said that he could catch, too, since that's what the Phillies needed at the time. Thus, Carlos Ruiz became perhaps the biggest-name player out of Panama, joining the likes of Omar Moreno, Manny Sanguillen and Juan Berenguer. The Phillies are hoping to get lucky once again.
Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly reports:
Phillies have signed a top Panamanian SS prospect, 16 year old Jonathan Arauz, for $600g.
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyCSN) August 4, 2014
The move was first by tubeisbol.com last month.
Tu Beisbol describes Arauz's play:
Scouting Report: Arauz has a 5.0 arm with a capacity to either grow or descend in this tool. Very defensive and has the ability to motion well before each grounder. Has average contact, more power from the left side of the plate and a full contact player from the right side of the plate.
His weakness comes from base running, especially from home to first base. He is not very fast, but compensates his defensive range by his excellent location and arm. Will play SS, possibly could switch to 2B, but will play for many years as SS.
While the Phillies do have shortstop J.P. Crawford in the system, the Phillies would be best served by accumulating as many prospects as they can at this lean time. Remember, many do not work out as planned.
