Phillies expected to sign Dominican slugger Ortiz

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies are pleased with the early returns of the Draft, but they plan to add more power to the system Thursday.

• Cast your Esurance All-Star ballot for #ASGWorthy players

They are expected to reach an agreement with 16-year-old outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz on the first day of the international signing period. Ortiz is a 6-foot-2, 260-pound slugger from the Dominic Republic.

MLB.com ranked him as the sixth-best international prospect available.

Ortiz has the best raw power of the entire class, the type of power scouts have not seen from a player his age in years. There are concerns from some scouts about his athleticism and whether or not he will remain an outfielder, but other scouts think he should be fine.

Of course, if Ortiz hits for power, the Phillies will find him a place to play.

Video: Phillies director of scouting Almarez discusses Draft

The Phillies have $3,041,700 in bonus money to use on their international prospects. They can go over that amount to sign a player, and they are expected to go well over that number to sign Ortiz with a bonus of more than $4 million. But that comes with consequences.

For example, teams that exceed their pool by 15 percent or more are not allowed to sign a player for more than $300,000 during the next two signing periods, in addition to paying a 100-percent tax on the pool overage.

The D-backs, Angels, Rays, Red Sox and Yankees exceeded the 2014-15 pool by at least 15 percent, and cannot sign any pool-eligible players for more than $300,000 during the next two signing periods.