Stock is up on Angels top international free agent signing from last year

With the 2025 international free agent signing period upon us, it makes sense to check in on the prize of last year's class for the Angels. A year ago, the Angels gave a $2.3 million bonus to Joswa Lugo out of the Dominican Republic just over a week before his 17th birthday.

The sum was a hefty commitment, just over half of the Angels' $5.1 million international signing allotment and the largest commitment they handed out during last year's period. It's easy to forget about the impact striking on these players can make given they are so young and come from far-flung locations where only the most tuned in have any expertise about their performance and potential.

However, building a pipeline in these baseball hotbeds in Latin America and beyond can be crucial to developing a farm system and creating a funnel for impact talent to consistently arrive and contribute to the big league club.

Lugo was exceptional in his first year in the Angels system. Playing in the Dominican Summer League, not exactly the highest level but this is a literal child we're talking about, he slashed .301/.370/.466 in 53 games showcasing some pop (five home runs), speed (18 stolen bases), and plate discipline (7.8 BB%).

Joswa Lugo was named the top international prospect in the Angels' system

MLB.com recently selected each team's top international prospect and named Lugo the creme de la creme of the Angels' cache of international talent. While that might not sound like much given that by all accounts, the Angels' farm system ranks among the league's worst, they still had some interesting things to say about Lugo and his potential.

"He had a strong debut in the Dominican Summer League (.301/.370/.466), and as a bigger infielder with a lot of pop who might eventually need to slide to third, he reminds some tools-wise of the Reds’ Noelvi Marte."

MLB.com

Noelvi Marte is an interesting name to invoke. The 23-year-old third basemen arrived on the scene in 2023 and impressed over 35 games with a 119 wRC+, however, he began 2024 with a positive drug test resulting in an 80-game PED suspension and struggled mightily to the tune of a 46 wRC+ in the 66 games he played upon his return.

However, the Marte comparison isn't important because of the suspension or major league struggles, but rather because of who he was as a prospect. Like Lugo, Marte was an international free agent signing who agreed to terms with the Mariners as a 16-year-old in 2018. Throughout his minor league career he worked his way to become a consensus top-100 prospect ranking as high as the teens according to some outlets.

For his minor league career, he owns a .278/.360/.457 line. Tools-wise, he's comparable to Lugo though Lugo has a significantly larger frame, standing at 6-foot-3, projecting even more power potential as he continues to grow and fill out.

It will be a long time before we see Lugo knock on the door of big-league playing time, and that's okay. That's what is expected from these international free agents who, while risky, bring immense potential to the table.

The Angels' unique way of handling draft assets and fast-tracking older prospects to the big leagues plays a big role in how they can also maximize young international talent to build a robust system. By spending premium draft assets on college prospects who are nearly MLB-ready, the Angels open up their development apparatus almost solely focusing on these young lottery tickets that can be found on the international market, thereby maximizing their potential.

It certainly appears the Angels have the makings of a winning minor league player development formula in place. The next step is continuing to invest heavily in talented international prospects like Lugo and giving them all the nurturing necessary to become quality big leaguers years into the future. If they can successfully marry those two approaches, they'll wind up with a prospect factory that rivals any in baseball.

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