An already stacked Nationals farm system is about to add even more upside. The club on Wednesday signed shortstop Brayan Cortesia, MLB Pipeline’s No. 14 international prospect, to join the organization as its headlining member of the 2025 class.
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Cortesia’s deal is worth $1.92 million. The club received $6.26 million in pool money this year.
In total, the Nats reached deals with 14 international prospects.
“[The biggest priority] was to add as much value as possible to the organization,” Nationals director of international operations Victor Rodriguez said on a Zoom call. “Guys that have tools that can play in the middle of the field that at the end of the day can provide offensive value.”
Cortesia, 17, has an up arrow next to his name due to his package of intangibles. There’s still oodles of projection in each facet of the Venezuelan shortstop’s game, while he’s also described as a “baseball rat” whose intensity and work ethic garner plus marks. He comes from an athletic family, with his brother having been a member of the country's national track and field team.
Equipped with a level right-handed swing, Cortesia sprays the ball to all fields. While his power has come on as he has aged, he deploys more of a bat-to-ball approach at this stage. As his frame continues to fill out and he faces more advanced velocity, there’s optimism that the extra-base pop will begin to emerge.
Clocked as fast as 6.5 seconds on his 60-yard dash times, Cortesia uses those wheels to his advantage defensively. Viewed as a surefire shortstop as his professional career gets underway, he showcases soft hands, good feet and an above-average arm to boot.
“Cortesia is a guy that we believe is a five-tool player and can play shortstop,” Rodriguez said. “Very exciting physical upside, above-average athlete that’s going to be an above-average runner. Pretty much, all the tools across the board are above average with a chance to hit for power.”
The club is also excited about another Venezuelan signee, catcher Daniel Hernandez, who received a $1.1 million bonus. A left-handed hitter who turns 17 in February, he recently transitioned to becoming a full-time backstop after years spent on the infield dirt. There’s loads of athleticism to tap into no matter where he’ll call his defensive home.
“What separates him is makeup, but what really separates him is his bat,” Rodriguez said. “… Due to his tool set, we really like him behind the plate. … If you’re going to make that type of conversion to that type of position, you’ve got to have makeup, you’ve got to love the position and have some leadership skills, and we believe Daniel Hernandez has that.”
Below is a complete list of Nationals signees by country, notable bonuses and signing scouts:
Dominican Republic
Rony Bello, 2B, $450,000, Oscar Disla
Junior Castillo, C, Abraham Despradel
Marconi German, SS, $400,000, Federico Pelletier
Juan Lopez, RHP, Ricardo Vasquez
Adrian Tusen, SS, Virgilio De Leon
Esnaider Vargas, OF, $400,000, Pelletier
Venezuela
Jesus Carrasco, RHP, German Robles
Brayan Cortesia, SS, $1.92 million, Juan Indriago
Edgardo Figueroa, C, $300,000, Despradel
Jonierbis Garces, OF, $350,000, Robles
Daniel Hernandez, C, $1.1 million, Salvador Donadelli
Hernan Mejia, LHP, Indriago
Manuel Ruiz, RHP, Robles
Jhondel Salas, RHP, Indriago
The Nats are no strangers to rolling the dice on high-upside players in the international market. Two years ago, they added Cristhian Vaquero (club's No. 23 prospect), the No. 2 international prospect in his class, for $4.925 million before landing two of the top 25 talents from the 2024 international signing period: Victor Hurtado (WSH No. 15) and Angel Feliz (WSH No. 16).
It was 10 years ago that the Nationals gave a sweet-swinging left-handed hitter $1.5 million to sign out of the Dominican Republic at 16 years old. While there’s always the hope that any given class can include the next Juan Soto, most developmental tracks are much longer and rockier and no two players follow the same trajectory.
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, 2007, and Aug. 31, 2008, 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.