A team of prospects from Venezuela won the inaugural Trainer Partnership Program’s Regional Tournament on Thursday by defeating the team from Santo Domingo, 8-7, in the championship game at the Phillies’ academy in the Dominican Republic. 

The tournament, which launched in April with teams separated by region -- North, South, East and Central -- in the Dominican Republic, featured more than 120 prospects in the final round. In all, more than 300 prospects participated in the tournament.

“[Thursday] was an exciting finish to a terrific two months of baseball,” said Morgan Sword, MLB’s Senior Vice President of League Economics & Operations. “The players represented their countries and their regions with passion, and all 30 of our Clubs have gotten the opportunity to see the next generation of talent firsthand. We are excited to continue to work with our partner trainers on events like these.”

The Trainer Partnership Program, created last summer as part of MLB’s overall efforts in Latin America, has held showcases for prospects from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela since the program began. In February, prospects from both countries were featured in the same event at the Mets’ academy in the Dominican Republic.

Those showcases featured a 60-yard run, infield and outfield drills, batting practice and games. The events also featured cameras that measured exit velocity, launch angle, ball spin and projected distance as well as bat speed, barrel speed and other swing analysis metrics during batting practice. In addition to TrackMan data, types of pitches, velocity and spin rate were also recorded.

The four mini-tournaments to crown the regional champions also featured a showcase element in addition to the games.

In all, there are more than 1,280 players, 27 trainers from Venezuela and 42 trainers from the Dominican Republic participating in the Training Partnership Program. Among its many initiatives, the partnership includes a focus on prospect education regarding health and the safe development of players, including the avoidance of PED use.