Like many organizations, the Dodgers have long turned to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the nation’s capital, to land some big fish on the amateur international market. This year is no different as the club has agreed to a deal with 6-foot-3 switch-hitting shortstop Ezequiel Melbourne, the No. 29 prospect in the 2026 class.
Last year the club put all its proverbial eggs in one basket during its dogged pursuit of right-hander Roki Sasaki (No. 1 prospect in 2025). This go-round, Los Angeles has been able to spread out its funds and allocated its $6,679,200 in pool money across a diverse group of talent.
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While it’s far too early to say Melbourne is on the same track as former Dodgers international signees Adrián Beltré and Carlos Santana (among many others who have called Santo Domingo home), he has tremendous physical projection. A switch-hitter with a quality eye and a smooth stroke from both sides of the dish, he’s presently focused on line drives, but scouts believe there will be plenty of pop to come as he enters the professional environment.
Melbourne ($747,500 signing bonus) has a quick first step defensively, backing the idea that he could stick at shortstop despite his taller frame. His long legs enable him to cover ground on the basepaths and he could tap into some stolen-base prowess as he continues to hone that aspect of his game.
The club also reached an agreement with left-handed-hitting outfielder Rubel Arias for $997,500. Melbourne and Arias have trained together with the highly esteemed Jaime Ramos, a member of MLB’s Trainer Partnership Program, in the Dominican Republic. (Emil Morales, the Dodgers’ No. 7 prospect, also trained with Ramos during his amateur days.)
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Arias, who has a smooth stroke in the box and plenty of power potential to grow into, landed just outside the Top 50 prospects in his class. He’s expected to command the highest bonus among this year’s Dodgers crop ($1.2 million, per a source) and could well prove worthy of that investment with his offense-first profile.
Los Angeles – which MLB Pipeline ranked as having the No. 1 farm system in the sport last August – already has a gargantuan amount of talent at both shortstop and in the outfield down on the farm with 10 of its top 12 prospects and 19 of the Top 30 in one of those two demographics.
Two of those standouts – Josue De Paula (No. 1/MLB No. 13) and Eduardo Quintero (No. 3/MLB No. 34) – were relatively modest international signings, receiving bonuses lower than $400,000. But getting them into the club’s player development program proved pivotal, as even evaluators across the league recognize the work the organization does in building up the talent it brings aboard – whether hitter or pitcher, domestic or international.
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An international player is eligible to sign with a Major League team between Jan. 15 and Dec. 15. He must turn 16 before he signs and be 17 before Sept. 1 the following year.
That means players born between Sept. 1, 2008, and Aug. 31, 2009, will be eligible to sign in the current signing period. Players must be registered with Major League Baseball in advance to be eligible to sign.