
It’s been over a month since the 2026 international signing period opened, giving the proverbial ink on contracts time to dry. It’s also given MLB Pipeline a chance to take stock of which organizations have pulled in the best overall hauls.
International signing coverage:
• Everything you need to know
• Top 50 Prospects list
• Five top hauls from this year's class
• Each team's top international prospect
ALE: BAL | BOS | NYY | TB | TOR
ALC: CLE | CWS | DET | KC | MIN
ALW: ATH | HOU | LAA | SEA | TEX
NLE: ATL | MIA | NYM | PHI | WSH
NLC: CHC | CIN | MIL | PIT | STL
NLW: AZ | COL | LAD | SD | SF
For the players who have officially joined big league franchises, it’s a dream come true, one years in the making. We’ve seen those from traditional strongholds of talent -- Venezuela and the Dominican Republic -- as well as far-flung locales like China, Brazil and even Russia. Stir it up, calibrate it and check out the results -- here are the five best signing classes thus far, from top to bottom.
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• Top 100 prospects | Stats | Video | Podcast | Complete coverage
Orioles
It figures to be a banner year for Orioles international scouting director Koby Perez, with a club-record five members of MLB Pipeline’s Top 50 International Prospects list. Shortstop Jose Luis Acevedo (No. 14) and outfielder Ariel Roque (No. 18) slot in as their highest-ranked signings in the past decade-plus, with Acevedo commanding the largest signing bonus ($2.3 million) the club has handed out on the international market.
Factor in that they also landed the top-ranked pitcher on the 2026 market -- left-hander Andri Hidalgo (No. 25) -- and a perpetually potent Baltimore farm system looks like it will continue to churn out talent, particularly at the lower levels.
Phillies
Prospects like Francisco Renteria (No. 3) don’t come around too often. A bona fide five-tool talent, Renteria has earned comps to MLB’s No. 1 prospect Konnor Griffin for his ability to preternaturally excel in every facet of the game against his peers. As a 15-year-old, Renteria collected hits off a pair of former big leaguers during a stint in the Venezuelan Major League, and the outfielder couples excellent bat speed with plus-plus raw power.
While Philadelphia ponied up $4 million to land Renteria, it also handed out mid-six figures to Venezuelan shortstop Juan Parra (No. 39), who has blown away evaluators with his work ethic. Parra trained with former Phillies great Bobby Abreu (a member of MLB’s Trainer Partnership Program) in his native Venezuela and has the type of looseness and fluidity in his game that makes scouts think he could stick at shortstop in the long term.
The club landed a handful of intriguing low-dollar upside signees as well. Among them was right-hander Justin Burgos, a 6-foot-5 righty from the Dominican Republic who has dialed his fastball up to 92-93 mph consistently. There are the makings of a four-pitch mix there, as is the case with righty Alexandre Moreti, who made history as Philadelphia’s first amateur signing from Japan.
Athletics
Few players had as much helium leading up to international signing day in January as Johenssy Colome (No. 5). The A’s have tried to temper their excitement around the 17-year-old, but his combination of plus-plus power and silky smooth defensive actions gives the shortstop an incredibly high ceiling as he gets his pro career underway.
Also a shortstop, Ricky Duran (No. 33) has taken enormous steps forward defensively over the past few years, which when combined with his propensity for line drives, gives him an exciting all-around profile to dream on. How the A’s divvy up reps on the infield at given levels between Colome and Duran should be fun to watch in the years to come.
Helping fortify the group is Jose Perdomo (No. 45), one of the premier catching prospects in the 2026 class. Known as an above-average receiver and a joy for pitchers to work with, Perdomo currently fits the strong-armed/power-hitting backstop type. Add in infielder Edward Suazo, a contact-oriented dynamo, and the offensive upside of this group is immense.
While other clubs deployed the approach of spreading around their funds to cast a wide net for finding talent, the Mets leaned on the pedigree of Asigen, a left-handed-hitting shortstop who ranks as the best player from the Dominican Republic in his class. He’ll be just 16 years old for almost the entire Dominican Summer League season, giving him added runway to capitalize on a top-of-the-charts offensive profile.
Ramirez has drawn some comps to former Met Luisangel Acuña for his dynamic playing style and loud impact at the dish despite a shorter stature. He tore up the Caracas Prospect League with a .419 average, walking almost twice as much as he struck out while also going a perfect 3-for-3 on stolen-base attempts and throwing out a pair of runners from the outfield.
Pirates
For the second time in the past five years, Pittsburgh has landed a pair of top 20 overall prospects on the international market. Outfielder Jeancer Custodio (No. 7) checks in as the highest-ranked player the organization has ever brought aboard, a veritable hit machine who is one of the premier bats in his class. Similarly, shortstop Wilton Guerrero Jr. (No. 17) is one of 2026’s fastest runners. The son of a former big leaguer and the nephew of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, Wilton displays terrific in-game IQ and plays with a gritty, hard-nosed style.
In addition to that dynamic duo, the club also landed infielder Alexander Pio, who had a brief spell on the Top 50 International Prospects list. He trained with Custodio in the D.R. and has already popped exit velocities north of 105 mph as a 16-year-old. Pittsburgh once again scoured the globe to ink a pair of the most intriguing signings in this year's class -- Brazilian right-handed pitcher Pietro Rienzo and Chinese right-hander Mingxuan Zhang.
