Franco leads Dominican Winter League draft

September 12th, 2019

The annual Dominican Winter League draft took place on Wednesday night as each of the circuit’s six teams selected players over 16 rounds.

That teams are only allowed to pick players who have reached full-season Class A means the Draft tends to be a “who’s who” of young, up-and-coming players in the Minors, with many of the game’s top teenage prospects coming off the board early.

That certainly was the case this year, as three 18-year-old Top 100 prospects were taken within the first five picks.

Wander Franco (Rays’ No. 1), MLB Pipeline’s top-ranked prospect, was selected by Gigantes del Cibao with the No. 1 overall pick after the switch-hitting shortstop batted .351/.418/.587 with 28 extra-base hits, 19 steals and more walks (27) than strikeouts (19) across two levels in his first full season.

Julio Rodriguez (Mariners’ No. 3, MLB No. 51) came off the board three picks later, going to Leones del Escogido at No. 4 overall, and Tigres del Licey grabbed switch-hitting shortstop Ronny Mauricio (Mets’ No. 1, MLB No. 80) with the subsequent pick. Rodriguez was sidelined early in the season with a hand injury but returned in June and quickly established himself as a future impact hitter. In 84 games between Class A West Virginia and Class A Advanced Modesto, Rodriguez batted .326/.390/.540 with 12 homers, 26 doubles and 69 RBIs. Mauricio, playing in the South Atlantic League, slashed .268/.307/.357 with 29 extra-base hits for Class A Columbia.

At age 26, Robel Garcia (Cubs’ No. 26) was the oldest player taken in this year’s DWL Draft, going to Águilas Cibaeñas with the No. 2 pick. After playing three professional seasons in Italy before signing with the Cubs last fall, Garcia raked his way up to the Major Leagues in July and posted a .954 OPS with 27 homers in the Minors. He was one of three players with big league experience selected on Wednesday along with right-handers Emmanuel Clase (Rangers’ No. 28) and Elvis Luciano of the Blue Jays.

In total, 30 of the 96 players in Wednesday’s draft rank among their respective organization’s Top 30 prospects -- including 10 players ranked in their team’s Top 10.

Here’s a round-by-round breakdown of every Top 30 prospect selected on Wednesday:

1st round

Wander Franco, SS, Rays No.1/MLB No. 1 (Gigantes del Cibao)
Robel Garcia, 2B/3B, Cubs No. 26 (Águilas Cibaeñas)
Geraldo Perdomo, SS, D-backs No. 7 (Toros del Este)
Julio Rodriguez, OF, Mariners No. 3/MLB No. 51 (Leones del Escogido)
Ronny Mauricio, SS, Mets No. 1/MLB No. 80 (Tigres del Licey)
Jeremy Pena, SS, Astros No. 9 (Estrellas Orientales)

2nd round

Gilberto Celestino, OF, Twins No. 21 (Gigantes del Cibao)
Christopher Morel, 3B, Cubs No. 14 (Águilas Cibaeñas)
Emmanuel Clase, RHP, Rangers No. 28 (Estrellas Orientales)

3rd round

Wenceel Pérez, SS, Tigers No. 13 (Águilas Cibaeñas)
Mariel Bautista, OF, Reds No. 25 (Tigres del Licey)

4th round

Jerar Encarnacion, OF, Marlins No. 18 (Gigantes del Cibao)
Freudís Nova, SS/2B, Astros No. 3 (Águilas Cibaeñas)

6th round

Robinson Ortiz, LHP, Dodgers No. 25 (Tigres del Licey)

7th round

Hector Yan, LHP, Angels No. 17 (Águilas Cibaeñas)
Yoan Aybar, RHP, Red Sox No. 29 (Estrellas Orientales)

8th round

Franklin Labour, OF, Giants No. 20 (Gigantes del Cibao)
Brailyn Márquez, LHP, Cubs No. 4 (Leones del Escogido)
Ronny Henríquez, RHP, Rangers No. 19 (Tigres del Licey)

9th round

Pablo Abreu, OF, Brewers No. 18 (Toros del Este)
José Alberto Rivera, RHP, Astros No. 30 (Tigres del Licey)

10th round

Brayan Bello, RHP, Red Sox No. 23 (Tigres del Licey)

11th round

Joan Adón, RHP, Nationals No. 17 (Águilas Cibaeñas)
Wander Javier, SS, Twins No. 7 (Tigres del Licey)

12th round

Yerry Rodríguez, RHP, Rangers No. 21 (Gigantes del Cibao)

14th round

Mark Vientos, 3B, Mets No. 6 (Gigantes del Cibao)
Dedniel Núñez, RHP, Mets No. 14 (Tigres del Licey)
Gregory Santos, RHP, Giants No. 12 (Estrellas Orientales)

15th round

Luis Gil, RHP, Yankees No. 4 (Tigres del Licey)

16th round

Marcos Brito, 2B/SS, A’s No. 27 (Toros del Este)