Philadelphia Phillies 2025 International Signings Review

Top Of The Class

The biggest bonus the Phillies gave this year went to Nieves Izaguirre, a 17-year-old Venezuelan shortstop who signed for $800,000. Izaguirre is a cousin of Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña and has a game that’s similar to Mets second baseman Luisangel Acuña. Izaguirre is 5-foot-9, 160 pounds, a compact, quick-twitch athlete with a short righthanded swing and good contact skills. He doesn’t project to be a big power threat but has the bat control to hit line drives around the field and plus speed that should make him a stolen base threat. He’s a smart, instinctive player for his age with an average arm and should fit in the middle infield, with some scouts thinking second base more likely than shortstop long term. 

Names To Know

Elias Marrero, SS, Dominican Republic: Marrero, 17, signed for $700,000. Having grown to 6-foot-1, 180 pounds and a chance he might still be growing, Marrero is an offensive-oriented middle infielder who stands out most for his ability to hit in games. It’s a smooth, compact swing from the left side with good bat-to-ball skills, showing occasional over-the-fence shots to his pull side but with more of a hit-over-power game. He has split time between shortstop and second base and should be able to play somewhere in the infield as he moves up the ladder. 

Deivis Velasquez, C, Venezuela: Signed for $620,000, Velasquez is a 17-year-old catcher who stands out most for what he does in the batter’s box. He has a strong frame (5-foot-10, 190 pounds) with a promising mix of both hitting ability and power for a young catcher. He has a short righthanded stroke, shows feel for the strike zone and is aggressive when he does swing, showing the bat speed to drive the ball with extra-base impact now and more to come as he fills out. With an average arm, Velasquez is more advanced offensively than defensively, so while there are things he will need to clean up behind the plate, he should be able to stick at catcher. 

Geremy Villoria, RHP, Venezuela: Villoria developed into one of the better Venezuelan pitchers in the 2025 class by the time he signed for $425,000. He turns 17 on Aug. 14, so he’s one of the youngest pitchers in the class and will play nearly the entire 2025 season as a 16-year-old. He’s 6-foot-3, 180 pounds, a lanky, projectable build with a fastball up to 94 mph and a lot of space left to fill out and add to what’s already a strong fastball for his age. With a compact arm action and good extension out front, Villoria shows feel for a high-spin slider that’s more advanced than his changeup, making for a good combination of present stuff, projection and starter traits. 

Leandro Carpio, OF, Venezuela: Carpio, 17, is 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, a physical righthanded-hitting corner outfielder signed for $350,000. Carpio’s power is his best tool, showing the strength to drive the ball with authority in batting practice, though he will have to make adjustments to make more contact against live pitching. 

Dayber Cruceta, OF, Dominican Republic: A $300,000 signing, Cruceta could be a breakout player in the Dominican Summer League. He’s 6-foot-1, 150 pounds, a slender build with room to pack on plenty of good weight and an already promising offensive foundation. He’s a lefty with a handsy swing, good strike-zone judgment and makes contact at a high clip with a good offensive track record as an amateur. It’s mostly gap power now with the chance for more once he fills out, though it’s his hitting ability that stands out the most. He’s an above-average runner who moves around well in the outfield and should get a chance to stick in center field. 

Romeli Espinosa, SS, Dominican Republic: A $250,000 signing, Espinosa sticks out quickly with his lanky 6-foot-4, 170-pound build at 16 years old. There’s significant upside if he’s able to put it all together with his mix of athleticism, tools and physical upside. He’s a plus runner with a strong arm from an easy throwing stroke and good actions in the dirt. Espinosa will have to sharpen his plate discipline and overall contact skills, but there’s flashes of pull power now with projection to grow into plus raw power.

Carlos Severino, SS, Dominican Republic: Severino, 17, is an athletic shortstop with quick-twitch actions who signed with the Phillies for $200,000. He’s 6 feet, 180 pounds without much strength yet but he’s an above-average runner with an above-average arm and should be able to handle shortstop, though his athleticism and tool set could enable him to be a multi-positional threat in the infield and outfield if needed. At the plate, he’s a line drive-oriented hitter with occasional gap shots. 

Carlos Duran, LHP, Dominican Republic: Duran is a 5-foot-11, 180-pound lefty the Phillies signed for $150,000. He’s a 17-year-old with a shorter arm stroke who stands out for his pitchability and feel to spin. He will scrape 90 mph with good control, mixing in a curveball with tight rotation and showing feel for a changeup. 

Sleeper Watch

Elian Adames is a 17-year-old outfielder the Phillies signed out of the Dominican Republic for $75,000. Adames started to get more attention later in the scouting process as he game began to trend up, and while there’s still some rawness to his game, he stands out physically at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds with high-end bat speed and raw power for his age. His speed and arm strength are both around average, giving him a chance to get reps in center field, though long term likely profiles best in a corner. 

The Phillies also signed two pitchers from Mexico who are intriguing lower-dollar signings. One is David Hernandez, who got $70,000 as an athletic lefty (6-foot-1, 165 pounds) with advanced pitchability for a 17-year-old. He touches 92 mph with a fastball rides up in the zone with sneaky life to miss bats and shows feel to manipulate both his curveball and changeup. 

The other pitcher signed from Mexico to watch is Ramon Marquez, who got $10,000. Marquez is 6-foot-2, 185 pounds with a fastball touching 95 mph and feel for a changeup that’s ahead of his slurvy breaking ball.