Int'l Prospect Showcase brings top talent to US

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The institution is less than a decade old, but its alumni are a testament to the program’s prestige.

Ronald Acuña Jr. Gleyber Torres. Rafael Devers. Eloy Jiménez. Juan Soto. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Jimmy Meayke was one chief architect of the inaugural MLB International Prospect Showcase in 2011, held in Venezuela. And Meayke is at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick this week, for the program’s first installment on U.S. soil, held in conjunction with the annual General Managers Meetings taking place nearby.

During one pause in Monday’s workout for top amateur players from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, Meayke swiped excitedly at his smartphone display and showed one visitor a cherished photo: Torres, with the MLB logo on his uniform, attending a similar showcase before signing with the Cubs in 2013.

“It’s a great pride,” said Meayke, MLB’s consultant for Venezuela operations. “What we have achieved up [until] today, nobody could have imagined. Of course, nothing like this would be possible without the commitment and enthusiasm from the Commissioner’s Office, with the mandate of the Commissioner to expand [interest in] baseball.

“This is the way to demonstrate that we want to increase the presence of [baseball in] any country. We’re open to anyone interested in playing baseball. And when kids see this kind of opportunity, this elevates the level of interest.

“The guys who are not here want to be here.”

To make it here, prospects must be affiliated with trainers and agents who are part of MLB’s Trainer Partnership Program -- which mandates drug testing and player health and safety criteria.

The Showcase is especially valuable for prospects from Venezuela, where MLB team talent evaluators travel infrequently because of political turmoil in the country.

“This is huge for us, because it puts the Venezuelan market more even with the Dominican Republic,” said Kander Depablos, the Venezuela-based trainer who has five players involved in the Showcase. “In the Dominican Republic, all 30 [MLB teams] have academies. Most assistant GMs go every year to see players they’ve already signed, so they know most of the kids. We don’t have that in Venezuela. Not even the [international scouting] directors can come anymore, due to the political situation.”

So rather than fly Venezuelan prospects to neutral-site workouts in the Dominican Republic or Colombia -- as occurs often now -- this week’s showcase is centralized in the U.S.

Meayke and Miguel Matos, who is based in the Dominican Republic, led the selection of the 117-member camp roster, comprised of 62 Dominicans, 52 Venezuelans and one each from Curacao, Haiti and Panama.

“The kids were nervous, anxious and happy,” Meayke said. “They’re used to going to the academies in the Dominican Republic, but they’ve never experienced something like this.

“We’re training these kids like they’re MLB players. We want to make this a cultural experience for everyone involved, and … we want to make sure this [showcase] provides a service for our clubs.”

Typically, 70 to 80 percent of international players in the MLB showcases sign at least a Minor League contract, Meayke said, with two percent developing into All-Star caliber players.

But Meayke said the sport also needs “ambassadors” to show leadership when they return to Venezuela in the offseason or after they’re finished playing professionally -- regardless of the competitive level they obtained.

“The industry is progressing and getting better,” Meayke said. “There are still a lot of things to do and space to get things better, but the kids are trying to get better educated. They’re more curious about the future. Their behavior at the international events has been great, even when you see kids at only 14 or 15 years old. It’s been a big change.”