State of Yankees International Free Agency, And Looking At 2026 Class of Pacific Rim Prospects

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It has been a quiet start to the 2026 international amateur signing period for the New York

Yankees. For keen observers this comes as no surprise; most of the action was done (or undone depending on how you look at it) in the months leading up to signing day. With the ousting of longtime international amateur scouting director Donny Rowland and his assistant Edgar Mateo, along with a handful of area scouts, there has been a reciprocal effect on the 2026 class as it relates to departures.

Over the last 11 months the Yankees lost commitments from at least 5 of their 6 biggest bonus recipients in the 2026 class, including Wandy Asigen (SS, Dominican Republic, ranked as the #2 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline), Jeyson Horton (SS, Dominican Republic, ranked as the #9 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline), and Jose Colina (C, Venezuela, previously ranked as the #44 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline), as well as the pitchers set to receive the two biggest bonuses of the Yankees class, namely Darwin Rivas (RHP, Venezuela) and Yilmar Samudio (RHP, Panama).

Contrary to some reports, the Yankees did not cancel all the agreements they had with their

international amateurs in the 2026 class; in fact, once the dust settled on January 15th, they

ended up with 14 players signing in spite of the lack of leadership in the department.

However, of those 14 players, only 6 (reportedly) will count against the bonus pool, with 8 of the signings reportedly signing for 10,000 or less. With 5,440,000 as the bonus pool allotted to the Yankees this year, only about 12% (660,000) of it was spent on signing day, leaving the Yankees with nearly 4.8M to use in whatever way they desire.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of the preeminent Latin American talent that was eligible to sign in the 2026 IFA signing period has already signed with one of the 29 other organizations. For reference, every prospect listed on MLB Pipeline’s Top 50 International Prospects list for 2026 has officially signed elsewhere at this point. It is worth noting that they’ve used a small chunk oftheir remaining bonus to sign a handful of pitchers from Mexico, such as Manuel Aguilar (RHP) who signed for a bonus of 100,000 according to Francys Romero.

So is 2026 a lost year for the Yankees as it relates to IFA? In some ways, yes. For an organization with the resources that they possess, it is an organizational failure to come away on signing day with one of, if not the worst class on paper out of all 30 organizations. Perhaps one of the 14 amateurs they did sign ends up becoming a star; it's not impossible. But the process used to arrive at this point is where the organization failed, in my opinion.

You will not find me arguing with the decision to let go of Rowland and his associates. I believe once upon a time the Yankees were the (or close to) gold standard in terms of IFA and were a model organization in this regard, but that status has slipped quite drastically over the past five years to the point where new voices and new philosophies were needed to catch up with the organizations that now set the standard in this arena (Dodgers, Brewers, Giants, just to name a few). However, the timing and way in which the overhaul in the department occurred left the Yankees in a perilous position when it came to this year's signing period.

As mentioned, this class, on paper, was shaping up to be among the strongest the Yankees have had in years. Even if you believe the processes behind how this class was assembled were flawed, the alternative was (is) much worse. By the time the decision to let go of Rowland and some of his associates was made, it was too late to pivot the strategy, as the vast majority of the players any new director would want to target already had locked-in agreements with their respective teams. So the two options on the table were to go forward with the class that Rowland had assembled for 2026, which pundits and observers commended at the time, or (mostly) scrap it and leave the next director with most of the bonus pool available to them with a very slim market of players to spend it on. The Yankees chose the latter.

The Yankees settled on internal candidate Mario Garza to lead the department after nearly three months of searching for Rowland’s replacement. While the pool of candidates considered likely included other unreported names, he was one of four candidates that had reportedly interviewed for the job. The other three included Mitch Colahan (Yankees Assistant Director of Domestic Amateur Scouting), Oz Ocampo (former Astros IFA Director), and Matt Slater (former Cardinals executive). I will not pretend to be an expert on these candidates; I do not know them wellenough to comment on their qualifications.

However, I do take some issue with the hiring process that took place here. When the decision was made to part ways with Rowland & Co. I thought the Yankees had a very good opportunity to canvas the league and speak with candidates from organizations that clearly have eclipsed them when it comes to the international amateur arena and everything that entails. To (reportedly) not speak with anyone currently employed in one of those organizations to at the very least hear about how those departments in those organizations operate is a significant misstep in my view. Maybe Garza was still the most qualified candidate, maybe the front office hit a home run with Garza, and he completely revitalizes the department and brings them back to the forefront of the league, but that does not mean the process they used to get to that point was sound.

I want to add that I am a fan of some of the early moves made by Garza thus far. Bringing in

Matt Slater (who interviewed for the job) to the department under the title of “Global Player

Acquisitions Supervisor” is a shrewd move, regardless of whether it was Cashman’s or Garza’s call. Slater has a lot of experience in the Pacific Rim baseball scene and the Cuban scene, two regions that have been neglected to a significant extent by the organization in recent history.

Slater will likely be put to the test as early as this year in securing amateurs from these regions given the current position the Yankees find themselves in this signing period (more on that later).

As far as notable player commitments secured by Garza, I like the pickups of catchers Sebastian Perez (for 1.7M according to Francys Romero) and Marko Moura (for 500K according to Francys Romero) for the 2027 class from the video and reports I’ve seen. Both guys were originally tied to other organizations (Pirates and Padres, respectively) but shook loose after believing they could fetch bigger bonuses on the open market (and they were both right).

These were good market opportunities that the Yankees had a chance to pounce on after the 2027 bonus pool (like the 2026 bonus pool) opened up almost entirely after the reported

decommitments of Mairon De La Rosa and Anyelo Felipe, among others. A key benefit to

sign ings like these is their age, as they were both evaluated at a much later stage of development than other big-bonus international prospects who make commitments 3-4 years in advance oftheir respective signing days.I do want to continue to look forward, however, because the past is the past, and I believe I've been fair in my criticism of what's transpired. Looking ahead, the 2026 signing period is not entirely lost. There will be a window of opportunity for Garza and the Yankees this spring and summer that is not necessarily available to the other 29 organizations.

What I am referring to is the Pacific Rim and the small pool of talented eligible amateurs that

present themselves every year. More and more high school seniors from Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are choosing to forego their respective domestic amateur drafts to pursue their dreams of playing Major League Baseball overseas. Even though this number is increasing, the vast majority still decline the opportunity for various reasons, making the pool of players to evaluate very narrow.

This is also a very risky demographic, as the transition from high school amateur baseball in

their home country to professional baseball in the United States has proven extremely difficult due to competitive, cultural, and practical challenges. Because of this, very few organizations build an international amateur free agency strategy that revolves around investing the majority of their resources and bonus pool in this region in a given year.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, they do not have much of a choice. They cannot carry over any of their 2026 bonus pool into 2027, so they might as well use it. A big reason why this group of players is unofficially unavailable at the start of the signing period is timing, many are preparing for their final year of high school baseball and major tournaments in the spring and summer, such as the Summer Koshien in Japan, which holds enormous importance both personally and nationally.

Additionally, many have not yet decided whether they want to come stateside. Some prefer to

wait until closer to their domestic draft registration deadlines to consider MLB offers, and with many teams having already spent most of their bonus pools in January, this leaves only a small group of teams capable of offering financially competitive bonuses. With that said, here is an early preview of some of the names generating buzz across these Pacific Rim baseball powerhouses.

Japan

Shoki Oda (織田翔希) (RHP, Yokohama HS, 6’1/165lb)

Hailing from the most northern tip of Kyushu, the slender-built Oda, armed with a fastball that was clocked as high as 96 mph last year, is currently the consensus top high school pitcher eligible for the 2026 NPB draft. He complements his fastball with a devastating 12-6 curveball that is already a plus pitch alongside a promising slider and a developing change-up. Oda pitched to a 1.38 ERA in 52.1 IP across both the spring and summer Koshien for Yokohama. Yankees scouts have reportedly been spotted at his practices as recently as early April.

Haruki Komoda (菰田陽生) (RHP/1B, Yamanashi HS, 6'4"/220 lb)

Any tall and well-built two-way Japanese amateur will predictably draw national comparisons to Shohei Ohtani, which is beyond unreasonable and not something that should be done with Komoda (or anyone else). However, Komoda is a very intriguing prospect in his own right. As mentioned, he is currently a two-way player but has shown more promise and upside on the pitching side thus far, although with his physical traits, it's easy to dream of what he could become as a hitter. As a pitcher he already boasts a relatively deep arsenal with a fastball (that touches 94 mph) that he generates good ride on, a two-seam fastball, and developing secondaries in his forkball, slider, and curveball.

Komoda pitched to a 1.37 ERA in 19.2 IP across both the spring and summer Koshien for Yamanashi Gakuin.

Ryosuke Niwa (丹羽涼介) (RHP, Wakayama HS, 6’0/185lb)

Niwa is a personal favorite of mine. Aesthetically he’s cut from the same cloth as many

dominant Japanese starting pitchers that have come before him. His delivery is smooth and

repeatable, which allows him to generate a good amount of extension in his somewhat condensed frame. Niwa’s arsenal is very mature, just like how he goes about his business on the mound, with a fastball that has touched 94 that he complements with a gyro-slider, forkball, cutter, and curveball.

Commentary:

Out of the three main baseball nations in Asia, Japan is the country you are least likely to see the top amateurs head to MLB out of high school. It's almost unheard of for a heralded high school prospect that is expected to be picked and maybe even contested in the 1st round of the NPB draft to forgo that opportunity in favor of MLB.

However, many of them are advised to at least listen to what MLB teams have to say before they make a decision, however unlikely it is they act on what is presented to them. I would be quite stunned if any of these 3 pitchers decided to come to the states this fall. There has been some buzz surrounding Oda attracting significant attention from the Dodgers this spring, and they have some money left in their bonus pool to try and make a play for him. That might suggest Oda is more attainable than one would think. There are of course plenty of other talented Japanese amateurs I could have mentioned, both in high school and college, but these three are some of my current favorites.

South Korea

Hyun-seung Ha (하현승) (LHP/OF, Busan High School) (6'4"/198 lb)

The two-way phenom hailing from Busan is one of the “Big 3” ahead of this year's KBO draft

alongside Uhm and Kim. He is likely the biggest “project” of the three but conversely has the

most to dream on. He has outlier size and athleticism that he’s able to tap into both on the mound and in the batter's box. He will not be a TWP as a professional, but what he ultimately chooses is still a bit of a mystery. He appears to enjoy pitching more than he does hitting, but scouts currently seem to be more bullish on his hitting ability long-term over his pitching ability.

He does have quite a bit of pitchability at his young age, but his raw stuff is quite a bit behind. Hethrows a fastball that can get up to 94 mph but has sat more in the 88-91 mph range, and he complements it with a slider (his best secondary), curveball, and changeup. He was the youngest member on Team Korea at the WSBC U-18 last fall.

Jun-sang Uhm (엄준상) (RHP/SS, Deoksu High School) (6'0"/187 lb)

The other 2008-born player to feature on Team Korea’s U-18 team last fall, Uhm, like

Hyun-seung Ha, is also listed as a two-way player at this moment in time. But where they start to diverge is that Uhm spends much more of his time training as a position player compared to as a pitcher. A well-built shortstop, Uhm has legitimate projection as an infield defender with good hands and a strong arm despite having average range that might push him to third base in the future.

On the mound he is surprisingly polished with repeatable mechanics, a deep mix, and a fastball that can top out at 95 mph. The bat will have to be a carrying tool if he is to be a

full-time position player, and it has shown signs of being that for him with impressive power for his age and good bat-to-ball skills. I will be very interested in what Uhm decides to commit to, regardless of whether he comes stateside or not.

Ji-woo Kim (김지우) (RHP, Seoul High School) (6'0"/192 lb)

Kim, like Uhm and Ha, is also technically a two-way player, but of the three, he is the likeliest to be a pitcher full-time. I also believe that Kim currently shows the best raw stuff of the three

prospects on the mound with a fastball that has routinely sat in the 93-94 range with a splitter and slider to complement it. As a position player, he’s settled into a corner infield role at 3B and has shown some legitimate power projection; however, his overall profile as a position player is too far behind his projection as a pitcher for this to be a serious debate in terms of his long-term future.

Commentary:

This is the demographic of players that will perhaps be of most interest to observers like myself given the rate at which the upper echelon prospects come stateside and the bonus figures they have commanded in recent years. This year appears to be no different, with all three of theaforementioned prospects having verbally expressed some level of interest in coming stateside as opposed to entering the domestic KBO draft. This spring will be very important for all three of them, as they all have boxes they need to check in order to live up to the praise and hype they have been given by the Korean media.

Taiwan

Jen-Yu Liu (劉任右) (LHP, Pingxhen High School)

The youngest member on the U18 Taiwanese national team last fall, Liu is a physically mature left-handed pitcher that is able to generate a lot of power for his size, topping out at 94 mph with good ride. He has a repeatable and effortless delivery that allows him to throw strikes at a very above-average clip for his class. He also features a slider and a changeup.

Hua Ho (何樺) (RHP, Pingxhen High School)

Hua Ho was featured on the Taiwanese U18 national team last fall, where he displayed a fastball that can top 94-95 presently. He also heavily features a slider and forkball/splitter. He can be wild at times, but that is not unique to pitchers his age. He has a repeatable delivery and generates some of the best extension in the class.

Qian-Fan Lai (賴謙凡) (RHP, Daxi High School)

Lai is currently the hardest-throwing pitcher in his class, topping out at 96 mph from the right

side. He is definitely on the smaller side, physically, but he has a high effort delivery that allows him to get downhill well and generate good extension. He also features a gyro-slider, splitter, and curveball in his repertoire.

Cheng-Hao Wu (吳丞顥) (LHP, Pingzhen High School)

Wu, a very mature lefty (but isn’t afraid to get emotional on the mound), features a fastball that tops out at 93 while also having a deep repertoire that consists of a curveball, changeup, sinker, and sweeper.

Chen-Wei Hsu (許宸緯) (RHP, Xiufeng High School)

A tall but slender, right-handed pitcher, Hsu is able to generate quite a bit of velocity for his

current frame, topping out at 93 mph presently. He gets down the mound well but does not

generate much extension. He also features a plus slider that he generates a lot of whiffs on.

Chun-Shi Lin (林珺希) (RHP, Daxi High School)

A two-way player whose focus has geared more towards pitching in recent years. His fastball has topped 92 mph. Lin has a clean, repeatable delivery that allows him to command his pitches well. Very fastball reliant presently, and fleshing out the rest of the repertoire will be key.

Shu-Cheng Hsu (許書誠) (SS, LH, Taoyuan Industrial & Commercial School)

U18 national team player Hsu has the range, arm, and hand-eye coordination to project to stay at SS for the time being. He possesses a smooth left-hand swing that is currently geared more towards contact than power. But with his large frame and physical projection, it is easy to see more power being tapped into in the future.

Bo-Kai Chen (陳柏凱) (SS, RH, Daxi High School)

Another tall infielder, Chen, who’s from a baseball family, has a long right-handed swing that is geared for power. He is likely to move off of shortstop once he fills out physically, but his

present athleticism, physical traits, and high baseball IQ should lend themselves to him

becoming a good defender in the infield or in the outfield.

Commentary:

Taiwan has been consistently the most raided baseball nation by Major League Baseball of the three examined, and this year projects to be no different. Lai and Liu stand out on the pitching side for me while Hsu and Chen stand out on the position player side. While imbalanced towards pitchers, there are some interesting position players in this class as well. Expect more than a handful of bonuses in the 400k-900k range, as this has usually been enough to sway the top Taiwanese amateurs to forgo the CPBL draft. Also worth keeping in mind that Taiwanese amateurs seem to be slowly but surely yielding more of a return than they have in the past for MLB teams. Kai-Wei Teng was on the Astros' opening day roster in the bullpen; Wei-En Lin (Athletics) and Wen-Hui Pan (Phillies) are very interesting pitching prospects, and Hao-Yu Lee (Tigers) and Ching-Hsien Ko (Dodgers) are among the most promising position player prospects in their respective systems.

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Every Prospect. Every Level. Every Day.