2025 MLB International Prospects Signing Day

For talented amateur baseball players around the world, there is no day on the calendar like January 15th. Marking the opening of the international signing period, it’s the day when years of hard work and perseverance make dreams come true.

More often than not, this is the first step in a journey to the major leagues. The majority of players signing contracts at the opening of the period are still of high school age in the United States, indicating the long development path they still have to travel.

But things are different in 2025. Roki Sasaki, the No. 1 international prospect, is a unicorn in the sense that, at age 23, he will be immediately ready for the Major League upon signing, which is not not in play even for the most advanced 16 and 17 year olds who are traditionally the headliners of these courses. Sasaki should feature prominently atop MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects list as soon as he puts pen to paper.

As Sasaki’s trading window (which ends Jan. 23) stretches into the early days of the 2025 period, three clubs are reportedly still trying to land the potential ace with a triple-digit fastball. Sasaki can only sign as long as an organization has international pool money, numbers you’ll find for each club in this story.

Competition to recruit Sasaki remains fierce. But what other names should you know? Here’s a closer look at Sasaki and the rest of the top five.

No. 1: Roki Sasaki, RHP (Japan)
MLB teams have been waiting for the opportunity to sign the talented right-hander since he burst onto the world stage and showcased his elite skills during the World Baseball Classic at the age of 19. His heater has hit 102 mph in the past and his splitter is virtually untouchable, generating a 57.1% whiff rate in 2024. He has the look of a front-line starter, ready to immediately contribute to a rotation in the big league. More “

No. 2: Josuar De Jesus Gonzalez, SS (Dominican Republic)
Shortstops who hit switches with a refined approach at the plate from a young age are sure to draw high comparisons, and there’s no shortage of them when it comes to Gonzalez. His ceiling was held in the same way as All-Stars Francisco Lindor and José Reyes. Gonzalez was considered the standout performer at the 18U World Cup in early August, with a seven-game stint in which he went 8-for-22 with four extra-base hits, more walks than strikeouts and five stolen bases. More “

No. 3: Elian Pena, SS (Dominican Republic)
Evaluators are pleased with Pena’s off-the-court makeup and feel for the game, believing he has legitimate five-tool impact potential in all areas. Blessed with great batting speed on the left side, he complements his propensity to hit the ball hard with one of the most advanced plate disciplines seen on the international stage in years. It’s rare for a prospect this young to have a keen eye for the zone, but Pena regularly showcases it while spreading the ball all over the court when he releases it. More “

No. 4: Cris Rodriguez, OF (Dominican Republic)
Hailing from the same city – Santo Domingo – as 2013 No. 1 international prospect Eloy Jiménez, Rodriguez has an equally offensive profile and an extra-large frame at a young age that has evaluators dreaming of what he can become if he taps into his All-Star caliber potential. Rodriguez has done damage at every stage of his amateur career, consistently generating extra base hits. More “

No. 5: Andrew Salas, SS/OF (United States/Venezuela)
Andrew is the youngest of the Salas boys with Jose and Ethan highly regarded international prospects before him. Born in Florida before moving to Venezuela, Salas is bilingual and was long trained by his father at the famous family resort where big players are known for staying sharp during the offseason. Salas sees the ball exceptionally well and supports that eye at the flat with good swing decisions. He has the distinction of being considered a plus defender in two different positions despite his young age. More “

With that in mind, here’s a look at how the Class of 2025 is progressing, globally and positionally:

Twenty-nine of the players on the 2025 Top 50 International Prospects list are from the Dominican Republic. There are 13 from Venezuela, three from Cuba, one from the Bahamas, one from Aruba, one from Japan, one from Nicaragua and one from the United States (who moved to Venezuela in his youth). Position-wise, there are 26 infielders, 16 outfielders, one infielder/flyer, four pitchers and three catchers.

Who is eligible?
There are guidelines for signing international prospects. A player can sign with a Major League organization between January 15 and December 15. He must be 16 years old before signing and be 17 years old before September 1 of the following year. Concretely, this means that players born between September 1, 2007 and August 31, 2008 will be able to sign during the next signing period. Players must register in advance with Major League Baseball to be eligible.

The distribution of the international bonus pool is as follows:

$7,555,500
CIN, DET, MIA, MIL, MIN, OAK, MER, TB

$6,908,600
ARI, BAL, CLE, COL, KC, PIT

$6,261,600
ATL, BOS, CHC, CWS, LAA, NYM, NYY, PHI, SD, TEX, TOR, WSH

How does the mechanics of the signing period work?
Each organization enters the signing period with bonus money to sign international amateur free agents. The size of this pool is determined by a number of factors, including market size and revenue, as well as the signing of Major League free agents who have declined a qualifying offer. Transactions, in which international bonuses can be traded in increments of $250,000, also affect the size of bonus pools. But a team can’t spend more than its allotment, no matter what: there’s no option to go over the limit and pay a tax, for example.

Although teams are allowed to trade as much of their pool as they want, they can only acquire 60% of their original pool. (For clubs listed in the first tier above, that would be an additional $4,533,300. In Sasaki’s case, the Padres and Blue Jays could add $3,756,960, giving them just over $10 million of dollars to offer the right-hander, while the Dodgers could add just over $3 million and bring their offer north of $8.2 million.)

However, signing players for a bonus of $10,000 or less does not count towards a bonus pool. So it’s possible for a team to spend its entire bonus pool on a single player while signing many other players to relatively small contracts.

While the majority of players signing immediately after the period opens are 16 or 17 years old, any international free agent under the age of 25 is allowed to sign up until December 15, 2025.