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Among MLB Pipeline’s Top 50 international prospects, 17-year-old shortstop Brayan Cortesia from Venezuela joined the Nationals organization ranked No. 14. Cortesia signed a deal worth $1.92 million of the club’s $6.26 million bonus pool money when the international signing period opened this week.
“Cortesia is a guy that we believe is a five-tool player and can play shortstop,” Nationals director of international operations Victor Rodriguez said on a Zoom call. “Very exciting physical upside, above-average athlete that’s going to be an above-average runner. Pretty much, all the tools across the board are above average with a chance to hit for power.”
MLB Pipeline evaluated Cortesia an overall 50 on a 20-80 scouting grade scale. Arm and field ranked highest at 55, followed by run and hit at 50, and power at 40.
The MLB Pipeline team wrote:
“Equipped with a level right-handed swing, Cortesia sprays the ball to all fields. While his power has come on as he has aged, he deploys more of a bat-to-ball approach at this stage. There is optimism that as he continues to fill out, he could get to that pop more often with consistency, especially against higher velocity.
“The superlatives for Cortesia begin defensively. Viewed as a long-term surefire shortstop as his professional career gets underway, he showcases soft hands, good feet and an above-average arm to boot. His overall athleticism -- which includes 60-yard dash times clocked as low as 6.5 seconds -- portend to him getting an extended look at the six.”
With a brother who was a member of the Venezuelan national track and field team, Cortesia demonstrates speed across the field.
“The foot speed ties into the entire offensive game,” Rodriguez said. “At the end of the day, you can't steal first, obviously. But we believe that the run tool can lead to some extra bases, can be a threat on the basepaths, and just be a guy that can really impact on all aspects of the offensive side.”
After turning 17 on Nov. 14, Cortesia was the third-youngest prospect signed by the Nats this year. Catcher Daniel Hernandez, a 16-year-old who inked a $1.1 million bonus, was the youngest.
“Basically, don’t ignore the obvious here,” Rodriguez said of projecting talent of young players. “The big leaguers, they stick out. Hitters stick out. Guys that throw strikes [stick out]. Outside of that, we try to look for physical components that we actually believe could get better and improve and, with our development system, grow into some value for us. But at the end of the day, we try to keep it simple. We use as much information as we can, but also not lose our instincts as scouts.”
Cortesia was signed by scout Juan Indriago, who also signed left-hander Hernan Mejia and right-hander Jhondel Salas.
“Juan Indriago has been a significant piece of our operations here,” Rodriguez said. “He's our Venezuelan crosschecker, but not just that. He’s helped do some cross-checking and cross territory work all over Latin America. The guy has been doing this for a very long time, has a great Rolodex of players. A very smart guy, has a good feel for players. Ultimately, [he is] an outstanding teammate and a great leader for all our guys.”