Cleveland Guardians 2025 International Signings Review
Image credit: Luis Garcia (Photo via Ben Badler)
The Guardians have two international signings in the Top 100 with shortstop Angel Genao and outfielder Jaison Chourio. There’s another promising group of Latin American players coming up at the lower levels of the system right now, particularly on the position player side. Those position players—and infielders in particular—were a heavy emphasis on their 2025 class, which didn’t have one player above $1 million but features several hitters with a knack for barreling balls in games.
BA is launching its first-ever Spanish language newsletter. Sign up below to make sure you get our first issue.
Here are scouting reports on 12 players from Guardians’ 2025 international signing class. You can find international reviews for all 30 teams here.
Top Of The Class
The Guardians signed 17-year-old Venezuelan catcher Hiverson Lopez for $900,000, the top bonus in their 2025 class. He’s 5-foot-11, 185 pounds and stands out most for what he does in the batter’s box. He’s a lefthanded hitter with a simple, compact stroke and good bat-to-ball skills. His swing has some stiffness at times but he regularly barrels balls in games with the bat speed to go deep to his pull side now and grow into average or better power once he’s physically mature. Lopez is a bat-first catcher but he should be able to stay behind the plate. He has good hands, an above-average arm and draws praise for his leadership skills as well.
Names To Know
Heins Brito, SS, Dominican Republic: Brito is a slender 5-foot-9, 155 pounds, a smaller build without much strength yet, but his athleticism and in-game skills stood out enough for the Guardians to sign him for $825,000. Brito is a 17-year-old with a mechanically sound stroke from both sides of the plate as a high-contact hitter with a good grasp of the strike zone. He has good hand-eye coordination to track and square up both fastballs and soft stuff, skills that should allow him to get on base at a high clip in the Dominican Summer League, albeit without much power or projection to be a big home run hitter. Brito is a quick-twitch athlete with above-average speed who shows the arm strength and actions to stick in the middle infield with a chance to stick at shortstop.
Luis Garcia, SS, Dominican Republic: Garcia is one of the more complete offensive players the Guardians landed this year. Signed for $775,000, Garcia is a 17-year-old switch-hitter with a good blend of contact and impact. He’s 5-foot-10, 175 pounds and projecting to have a strong, stocky build with what’s already good bat speed for his age. Garcia swings hard looking to drive the ball for extra-base damage and has the hand-eye coordination to drive the ball well without having to sell out his swing or sacrifice contact to do so. Garcia is an offensive-oriented shortstop who could move all around the infield, with either second or third base his most likely future defensive home.
Gustavo Baptista, C, Venezuela: Early on, Baptista had trained as an infielder, but he enhanced his value when he moved behind the plate before signing with the Guardians for $450,000. He’s 5-foot-11, 190 pounds at 17 with a contact-oriented, inside-out approach from the left side of the plate. Baptista is geared to serve balls to the middle of the field and the opposite way and has the strength potential to come into more power once he learns which pitches he can get the barrel out front on to pull in the air for more extra-base damage. Baptista isn’t as experienced behind the plate as a lot of other Venezuelan catchers his age, so while there’s still a learning curve for him defensively, he’s flexible, has good hands, a strong arm and high baseball IQ, along with the intangibles managers love to have in a catcher.
Jose Riera, SS, Venezuela: Riera, who turned 17 in May, has a smaller frame but has breakout potential because of his advanced offensive skill set. Signed for $400,000, Riera is 5-foot-8, 160 pounds with good strike-zone judgment and barrel awareness from the right side of the plate. His swing gets on plane early, staying behind the ball well to make frequent contact and drive the ball in the air. Riera doesn’t have much power now and his smaller stature might limit his home run totals, but there’s a chance for him to develop some sneaky pop with his explosiveness and knack for barreling balls in the air. Riera is an intelligent hitter who stands out more at the plate than he does defensively. He could get reps at shortstop and continue to develop there but likely ends up moving all around the infield.
Luis Galan, SS, Dominican Republic: Signed for $320,000, Galan is one of the youngest players in the 2025 class. He turns 17 on Aug. 14, so he will play nearly the entire DSL season as a 16-year-old. He’s 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, a wiry righthanded hitter with good contact skills and a patient approach. It’s mostly line drives and singles right now for Galan, so getting stronger will be key for his offensive development. He’s a good athlete and an above-average runner who should get a chance to develop at shortstop, though he could have value moving all over the field with the speed that would make him intriguing in center field too.
Rodny Rosario, SS, Venezuela: Rosario, 17, looked like a potential contact-oriented second baseman early in the scouting process before he eventually signed with the Guardians for $230,000. Since then, Rosario has continued to make contact at a high clip from both sides of the plate while enhancing his other tools. He has grown to 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, producing hard, quality contact in what’s still a hit-over-power offensive game. As he’s gotten stronger, Rosario has improved his quickness, athleticism and defense, giving him a greater chance to potentially handle shortstop at higher levels.
Jefferson Vargas, SS, Venezuela: Vargas is one of the best defensive shortstops the Guardians signed this year. He’s 5-foot-9, 150 pounds, a skinny frame that he will need to add strength to for his lefthanded bat to deliver more impact, but he’s a smart, instinctive defender who is fundamentally sound at shortstop with soft hands and a good internal clock. Vargas signed for $200,000.
Freilyn Rodriguez, OF, Dominican Republic: A smaller player early in the scouting process, Rodriguez has grown to 5-foot-10, 165 pounds at 17 as a $180,000 signing. He moves around well in center field with a swing that has tightened up as he’s gotten stronger, showing good bat-to-ball skills from the left side of the plate with doubles power.
Sleeper Watch
Venezuelan infielder Ricardo Romero is probably the smallest player who signed in 2025. He’s 5-foot-5, 160 pounds, a diminutive 17-year-old who got signed for $110,000 because he consistently hit at a high level as an amateur. Romero is a lefthanded hitter whose swing works well, swinging hard with an accurate barrel and good plate coverage. He identifies and tracks spin well, though his size probably limits his future power. He’s an offensive-minded infielder whose best defensive fit is probably at second base.
While Cleveland’s class is heavy on infielders and catchers, one outfielder to watch is Marcos Belen, an 18-year-old from Cuba who signed with the Guardians for $107,500. He’s 5-foot-10, 160 pounds with a hit-over-power profile and a chance to stick in center field.
On the mound, 17-year-old Dominican righthander Josh Perez is a pitcher to follow. Signed for $60,000, he’s 6 feet, 170 pounds with a heavy fastball up to 92 mph and good pitchability for his age. He mixes in a short slider he can run into the low 80s and has multiple versions of his changeup he can manipulate to get more depth or fade depending on the situation.
