Angels sign top shortstop prospect they stole from Yankees as signing period opens

The Los Angeles Angels are in a position where they have to maximize every chance they get to bring talent into the organization. At this point, any guy they draft could be fast-tracked to the big leagues, but that has left a substantial void in the farm system when it comes to players who are younger and need more time and care to develop. Thankfully, the start of international free agency has arrived, and that is a great chance to bring in some high-upside, if not very young, talent on both sides of the ball. In one case, the Angels also got the chance to stick it to the Yankees with a signing as well.

The Angels have had success off and on in the international market, with top prospect Nelson Rada being a notable success story (so far). This year, the Angels have an international bonus pool of $6,679,200 to spend on international amateurs, and a good chunk of that is going to shortstop prospect Yeison Horton (sometimes spelled Jeyson), who is a prospect that was supposed to sign with the Yankees before their entire international class fell apart.

Angels land Yeison Horton as the jewel of their international free agent class at the expense of the Yankees

Why exactly the Yankees decided to completely torpedo their international signing class is up for speculation. However, it worked out great for LA here, as they had to have available international bonus space to sign Horton for $2 million. In Horton, the Angels are getting a kid who should stick in the middle infield somewhere and who is a contact machine and a plus runner. Not bad for a guy that wasn't even in play at all until recently.

The rest of the Angels' international class also looks promising, although it would have been nice to see a couple more higher-profile arms. LA is signing another contact-oriented hitter in Dominican outfielder Carlos Castillo, who has a chance to stick in center field, as well as power-hitting outfielder Anderson Rodriguez, who happens to be the son of long-time MLB slugger Henry Rodriguez.

We do finally find a pitcher further down their list in Kendri Faña, who should throw plenty hard enough in the future to allow his plus changeup to play up even more. Are any of these prospects going to be in the majors anytime soon? Probably not, but that may be exactly what the Angels need for a change.