DSL Pirates primer

The Dominican Summer League Pirates were scheduled to open their season today.  To give you an idea of which players to look for in the minor league summaries, the following is a list of the more significant players who'll be with the team.  "Significant" in this context is based almost entirely on signing bonus, as Dominican prospects really are a crapshoot.  There will be a test on this, so pay attention.

Catchers

Gabriel Brito: The DSL Bucs will have two catchers worth following.  Brito signed for 2015, but missed about half the season due to injury.  He hit well when he played, with an .843 OPS and nearly as many walks as strikeouts.  The Pirates are sending him back for a second season, possibly in deference to Mikell Granberry, who'll be in the Gulf Coast League this year after having a good season himself in the DSL.

Samuel Inoa: Inoa got one of the bigger bonuses the Pirates gave out in 2015.  Baseball America characterizes him as having a good arm and a chance to hit.

Infielders

Christopher Perez: Perez signed for 2015 for a moderately large bonus by Pirate standards.  He was the primary shortstop in the DSL, but struggled badly at the plate and in the field.

Sherten Apostel: One of the Pirates' bigger signings last year, Apostel is a big guy at 6'4" with a strong enough arm to be a good prospect as a pitcher.  The Pirates will try him at third.  He's more of a line drive hitter than a power hitter at this stage.

Rodolfo Castro: A shortstop the Pirates think can stay at the position, Castro has a better glove than bat at this stage.

Outfielders

Jeremias Portorreal: The Pirates gave Portorreal a large bonus, by their standards, back in 2013, but he hasn't hit at all in two years in the DSL.  He was in the Fall Instructional League last fall, which is usually an indication that a player will move up to the GCL or higher, but he'll be back in the DSL, which isn't a good sign.

Larry Alcime: Alcime got the Pirates' second largest international bonus last summer.  He's a big corner outfielder with power potential whom BA characterizes as still raw.

Kevin Sanchez: The Pirates' biggest bonus last year went to Sanchez, a very speedy center fielder with a line drive bat and enough arm to stay in center.

Carlos Garcia: Garcia is a left-handed hitter with a line-drive approach who profiles as a corner outfielder.

PItchers

Yeudry Manzanillo: A 6'3" right-hander with good control and an upper-80s fastball, Manznanillo can already throw strikes and has some projection.

Leandro Pina: At age 17, Pina, a righty, already has a good change to go with an 88-91 mph fastball.

Randy Jimenez: A 6'3" lefty, Jimenez has some projection.  He throws in the upper-80s with a good curve.

Joel Cesar: Cesar is a small righty who signed at age 20.  He's suddenly developed great velocity, starting to reach 100 mph after he signed.  His control is presently poor.

Adonis Pichardo: The Pirates signed the righty Pichardo for 2015 as an 18-year-old converted outfielder who was showing a fastball that got into the mid-90s.  He pitched very poorly in the DSL last year as the result of poor command.

Yerry de los Santos: The Pirates signed de los Santos for 2015 thinking that he had some projection.  That hasn't happened yet and he got hit hard in the DSL last year.

Roger Santana: The lefty Santana figured to be a finesse pitcher with a good curve.  He mostly struggled in relief last year in the DSL, but pitched well late in the season.