Yasiel Balaguer, who defected from Cuba in November in order to become a free agent and eventually sign with an MLB team, will hold his first workout today for the Marlins, according to Michael Miller of the Miami New Times.
Balaguer’s representatives have been touting the 18-year-old outfielder as an elite prospect and various media outlets have eaten that up, but Baseball America editor-in-chief John Manuel spoke to scouts who described him as having “average tools across the board with one important below-average tool, his bat.”
Jose Iglesias received $8.25 million from the Red Sox and Noel Arguelles received $7 million from the Royals after defecting from Cuba last year, but it sounds like Balaguer is unlikely to approach those marks.