After a suspension for misstating his age and identity, and spending what seems like an eternity in visa limbo, hyped RHP prospect Rafael DePaula has finally received his visa from the US government (per Ben Nicholson-Smith on Twitter). This will allow the 21 year-old from the Dominican Republic, whom the Yankees signed for a $500,000 bonus in November 2010, to finally come stateside and make his professional debut.
DePaula was considered one of the top international free agents available several years ago, until it was revealed that he was in fact 19 (while he had been telling teams he was 17). Before the age revelations, DePaula was seeking (and likely would have received) a bonus well in excess of $1 million. The Yankees evidently saw enough in DePaula’s stuff to offer a big bonus, despite being two years older than reported. The reason for the Yankees’ (and other teams’) interest in DePaula is simple: he has excellent raw stuff, including a fastball that has been clocked as high as 97, and a sharp curveball. At 6’3″ he has the size to be a legitimate frontline starter going forward.
The visa allows DePaula to finally start his pro career, but he is far from a sure thing at this point. The odds are significantly against DePaula having a successful big league career, though there is very little precedent for his situation. DePaula is already 21 (the age of most college draftees), but he has had virtually no pro experience due to his inability to enter the US. He probably has gotten coaching in the DR since signing, but he hasn’t had the opportunity to get the benefit of the top coaches in the Yankee organization. The raw stuff is still there, but the lack of experience and refinement make DePaula much more of a risk than the typical 21 year-old pitching prospect.
I have no idea if he has anything resembling a legitimate 3rd offering at this juncture, or what his command and mechanics are like. He is basically a white whale for most prospect watchers, who have heard a lot of hype but seen very little of him. Here’s an old video from around the time he signed. For what it’s worth, Kevin Goldstein just tweeted that he would put DePaula at #9 on the Yankees’ top prospect list (which likely makes him the #4 pitcher in the system), so evidently the scouting community is still high on him.
It is always exciting to add another power arm to the Yankee system, and DePaula represents an intriguing prospect with serious frontline upside. However, it seems reasonable to be reserve judgement on DePaula until we see how he handles the transition to playing in the US. I’m not sure where the Yankees will have him start this year, but I could see him getting his feet wet in the Gulf Coast League to start, and possibly moving quickly through the system if he is as good as advertised. I will be very interested to see how the Yankees handle his development, and how DePaula handles the challenge of making his stateside debut nearly a year and a half after signing. The DePaula situation will really test the Yankees’ coaching and player development staff, and it will be interesting to see how DePaula responds to the new challenges that will face him.
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5 Responses to DePaula finally gets his visa
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TIQ IQ
It will be interesting to follow how the Yankees handle him. Will they want to rush him because of time missed, or will they want to take it slow because of his potential. Either way it’s always good to have another possible top arm in the system, if you can add him to Banuelos, Betances, and Campos we are deep in high powered, top talent level, young arms. Always good no matter how you use them and whether they pan out or not.
It’s hard to say how DePaula will be handled, because there has really been no analogous situation to DePaula in the Yankee farm. I assume they will start conservatively with him because they have plenty of arms at the upper levels, but due to his age they could promote him fast if he shows himself to be too advanced for the lower levels.
If they really wanted to test him they could start him out in AA. Now I think that is a little rushed, you probably want a much lower level of development to take a good look at his mechanics and what not. Age wise though it’d be about right, so if he did start in AA and do well it’d speak volumes.
AA seems very aggressive, I highly doubt they start him there. That would be an aggressive assignment for a college pitcher, and I wouldn’t think DePaula is as advanced as a guy coming straight out of college.
If I had to guess I would say that DePaula ends up in extended spring training and then goes to Staten Island when their season begins. Charleston is also within the realm of possibility, but I wouldn’t imagine them starting him any higher.
Yeah that’s the plan that makes the most sense from a developmental point of view, you don’t want to walk the kid over to the deep end, push him in, and tell him to swim. But at times I do think that is an acceptable method if you understand his mindset. But it won’t happen, and probably shouldn’t happen in this case.