Brewers Sign Dominican Outfielder

The Milwaukee Brewers have reportedly signed Jose Alberto Peña, a highly regarded outfield prospect from the Dominican Republic. It’s exciting news for a franchise that has historically not had much success landing major international prospects.

ESPN Magazine’s Jorge Arangure Jr. reported the signing on his Twitter account this evening.

Peña, a 16-year-old rightfielder, was called “arguably the most in-demand hitter on the market” by Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus last month.

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He shows a consistent ability to make hard contact, and has big-time power, along with a frame that has many projecting 30-plus home runs in the majors. Pena also owns an above-average arm and the athleticism to become a right fielder. He gets commended for his makeup, while also being the only top prospect this year still in school, as he finished up with his finals recently.

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The 6′4″, 195-pound Dominican bats and throws right. Brew Crew Ball’s Battlekow has more details:

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He’s being compared to Jermaine Dye and Juan Gonzalez and wowed the scouts last month in a showcase against the Canadian Junior National Team when he homered off Jake Eliopoulos (a top-three rounds draft talent). McDaniel has Pena as the sixth-best international prospect this year and says that Pena’s expected bonus has increased from $500K to $1M-$1.5M in the last couple weeks.

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Here’s a scouting report from Baseball America’s Ben Badler:

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Jose Pena, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound right fielder has flashed some power in game situations from the right side of the plate, showing average speed and a plus arm. Pena has shown well in front of some teams, including a workout in front of the Dodgers’ brass and at a showcase last month in the Dominican Republic where he hit a home run off Canadian lefthander Jake Eliopoulos, the Blue Jays’ second-round pick. “He’s grown bigger and stronger,” said one scout. “He’s the kind of guy who you might get out the first time, but he adjusts and finds a way to figure it out.”

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And a blurb from an ESPN Insider article from May:

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“He shows some raw power and he is a decent athlete,” Dodgers assistant general manager Logan White, who attended Monday’s workout, wrote in an e-mail. Said one international scouting director of Peña: “He’s a good kid with talent and plus makeup.”

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There is no word yet on what Peña got for a bonus, though it is expected to be between $500,000 and $1.5 million, which could eclipse the franchise record highest bonus for an international player ($710,000 for Rolando Pascual in 2005). For reference, the Brewers paid $450,000 to promising pitching prospect Wily Peralta and $33,000 to top prospect Alcides Escobar. (h/t Battlekow @ Brew Crew Ball)

For more, they’re discussing the signing over at BrewerFan.net too.

Good luck to the kid. Hopefully we’ll see him in Appleton soon!