20 Dominican Summer League Pitching Prospects To Watch In 2025
Image credit: Carlos Alvarez (Photo via Ben Badler)
In the international market, it’s hard to be a pitcher.
Teams largely shy away from paying big money for pitchers in Latin America, in large part because of the difficulty of projecting pitchers anywhere who are 16 or 17, especially when the signing decisions are often made when players are even younger.
Excluding players from Asia, there were 40 international players who signed for bonuses of at least $1 million this year. Just two of them are pitchers. There have been close to 100 players this year signed for bonuses of at least $500,000. Just four of them are Latin American pitchers.
It’s a group of players who aren’t easy to forecast. The projection that scouts see in a player’s stuff has to hit, their control and pitchability even if it’s good for their age has a long way to go and it’s hard to know who is going to have their career sidetracked by injuries or have the durability to handle starter innings.
So when a team like the Astros is able to hit on a collection of signings like Frambert Valdez, Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia, Jose Urquidy and Bryan Abreu to win a World Series, it’s even more impressive.
BA is launching its first-ever Spanish language newsletter. Sign up below to make sure you get our first issue.
As the Dominican Summer League season starts today, who are the next breakout pitching prospects to watch before they make the jump to the United States and become more well-known names? There’s a group of pitchers who are trending up and starting to separate themselves from the pack, showing improved stuff even since signing this year after spending the last several months training in team academies, working full-time with their team’s development staff, getting better nutrition and strength training.
Here are 20 of the top pitching prospects to watch this year in the DSL.
Kevin Defrank, RHP, Marlins: Defrank was one of the best pitchers in the 2025 class when the Marlins signed him for $560,000 out of the Dominican Republic and his stuff has only become more electric since then. He has a great pitcher’s frame at 6-foot-5, 205 pounds with broad shoulders and entered the year already reaching 95 mph. In preseason games, Defrank has been up to 100 mph, extraordinary velocity for a pitcher who will be 16 nearly the entire season. His lively changeup has plus potential and he shows feel to spin a slider that needs refinement but shows promise as well. Defrank has explosive stuff and good body control on the mound for a young pitcher his size, making for an exciting, high-upside starter look if he can handle the workload.
Adrian Peña, RHP, Marlins: Defrank has a case to be the best pitching prospect in the DSL. So does Peña, giving the Marlins two outstanding arms in their rotation from the Dominican Republic. Peña is a gigantic 6-foot-7, 195-pound righthander who was up to 94 mph when the Marlins signed him and now reaches 99 as a 17-year-old. Peña’s long arm and legs help him generate excellent extension and his feel to spin both his curveball and slider give him multiple breaking balls that could be bat-missing weapons. Signed for $400,000, Peña is still learning to repeat his delivery to throw consistent strikes, but he has good body control and mechanics for a young, gangly pitcher.
Sadbiel Delzine, RHP, Red Sox: At 6-foot-6, 200 pounds, Delzine has an extra-large frame with a power fastball to match. Delzine signed for $500,000 (the top bonus for a Venezuelan pitcher this year) with a fastball that touched 94 mph and now reaches 96. It’s high-end velocity for a 17-year-old and he looks like he could throw triple digits, but Delzine isn’t just a thrower. His athleticism helps him keep his delivery under control to throw strikes and he shows feel for multiple offspeed pitches, particularly his curveball as well as a changeup.
Kendry Chourio, RHP, Royals: If you’re looking for pitchers who pound the strike zone, Chourio fits that label. He’s 6 feet, 165 pounds and signed for $247,500 after showing exemplary control and pitchability for a 17-year-old. The strikes, touch and feel were what stood out about Chourio when most teams were scouting him, especially without standout size, but now his stuff has taken a significant jump forward, starting with a fastball that has reached 96 mph. He continues to show feel for multiple secondary pitches, including a tight curveball and his changeup to give him a starter look with his ability to control a three-pitch mix.
Adrian Torres, LHP, Dodgers: The best lefty signed in 2025? For some scouts, it was Torres, a 17-year-old from Panama who signed for $362,500. Torres has a projectable 6-foot-3, 180-pound frame and was pitching in the upper 80s when most teams were scouting him as an amateur, but he’s now up to 97 mph with room on his frame to project another uptick in velocity. The fastball paired with his slider could give him multiple plus or better pitches in the future. After his velocity spike, Torres is learning to harness that fastball in the zone with more consistency, but he’s athletic with the traits to be a high-end starter if he does.
Santiago Castellanos, RHP, Twins: Signed for $247,500 from Venezuela, Castellanos is only 5-foot-11, but it’s fast arm speed that has helped his fastball soar to 97 mph with good movement. It’s premium velocity—especially for a pitcher who is still 16—and he can drop in a hard curveball with good depth and mixes in an occasional changeup. How many strikes Castellanos throws will be a key to watch in the DSL, where he should have some of the better stuff in the league.
Omar Damian, RHP, Astros: Damian showed plenty of poise, touch and feel on the mound as an amateur before the Astros signed him for $397,500 out of the Dominican Republic. It was a sizeable bonus for a pitcher who was touching 90 mph, but it’s looking like it could end up a bargain. Still 16, Damian has started to fill out a frame listed at 6-foot-2, 160 pounds, and that extra strength has helped his fastball climb to 95 mph. There’s projection for more velocity in the tank and he generates that fastball from a low-effort delivery. Damian is a strike-thrower whose changeup is extremely advanced for his age and should pile up swing-and-miss, he shows feel to spin a curveball and recently has incorporated a slider too.
Raudy Reyes, RHP, Braves: The top bonus players in a class typically commit to a team years in advance of when they can officially sign. That wasn’t the case for Reyes, a Dominican righthander who last year threw 102 mph before signing with the Braves for $1,797,500, well above any other Latin American pitcher’s bonus this year. It’s absurd velocity for a player who is still 16 until Aug. 22 but he has a physically mature 6-foot-4, 220-pound build. Will he throw enough strikes or be able to build out a repertoire beyond his big fastball? Those were the questions for a lot of scouts, but those highest on Reyes thought he could develop better control once he learns to tone down the effort on each pitch. He throws a slider with short break and a changeup to round out his arsenal.
Kelvin Zapata, LHP, Orioles: Hitters don’t see many quality lefties in the DSL, which will make Zapata a difficult at-bat. Zapata was a thin pitcher with good control of a fastball up to 89 mph early in the scouting process, but since signing with the Orioles out of the Dominican Republic for $287,500 he has thrown 95 mph. Zapata, who turned 17 just before the start of the DSL season, produces that fastball despite being just a wiry 6-foot-1, 155 pounds, so there’s probably another velocity jump to come once he packs on more weight. He has shown feel for a sweepy slider as well.
Hector Moreno, RHP, Yankees: Moreno signed with the Yankees out of the Dominican Republic for $100,000 and has a familiar look to other power arms the organization has produced from their Latin American pipeline. He’s 6-foot-6, 200 pounds at 17 and can touch 95 mph with the physicality and arm speed that give him the look of a potential 100 mph arm. Moreno’s high-spin curveball is his best secondary pitch ahead of his changeup.
Randy Angomas, RHP, Yankees: With Moreno, Angomas and 19-year-old Manuel Cruz, the Yankees have three promising Dominican righthanders who will make their debut this year in the DSL. Angomas, a 17-year-old signed for $100,000, is 6-foot-1, 198 pounds with good control of a lively fastball up to 93 mph and a high-spin slider that should be a high swing-and-miss pitch.
Carlos Alvarez, LHP, Padres: The uncertainty of the situation with righthander Roki Sasaki and whether the Padres would be able to sign Alvarez had other teams trying to sign him, but the 17-year-old Dominican lefty stayed with the Padres and ultimately boosted his bonus to $1 million. There’s ample projection remaining in his 6-foot-5, 200-pound frame to help him grow a fastball that has reached 94 mph. There’s feel for a slider that’s his best secondary pitch, though there are flashes of sink and fade with a changeup that could become a bigger weapon with more experience.
Pedro Montero, RHP, Marlins: The Marlins have one of the best groups of pitchers in the DSL. They paid more for Defrank and Peña, but a more under-the-radar pitcher making noise now is Montero, who signed for $35,000 out of the Dominican Republic. He’s a 17-year-old who is a wiry 6-foot-1 with quick-twitch actions on the mound, where his fastball has increased from 94 mph coming into the year to now reaching 97 from a low-effort delivery. With his feel to manipulate both a slider and changeup, Montero has starter traits as an up-arrow pitcher.
Yordan Rodriguez, RHP, Athletics: Rodriguez, a 17-year-old from Cuba, signed with the A’s for $400,000 with a projectable 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame and a fastball touching 92 mph from an easy operation. He’s added strength and velocity, now reaching 95 mph, and there should be more in the tank. Rodriguez has a good mix of pitchability and feel for both his curveball and changeup, so it’s a starter look made more exciting with the extra power behind his fastball.
Ricardo Reyes, RHP, Athletics: The A’s signed Reyes out of the Dominican Republic for $250,000. He just turned 17 last month and has also seen his stuff improve since signing, going from a 91 mph fastball coming into the year to now reaching 95. At 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, Reyes has a wiry frame with projection remaining. His curveball has good spin and is ahead of his changeup. Venezuelan righthander Ricardo Osorio is another 17-year-old on the A’s DSL staff with similar traits—including a fastball up to 95—and gives the A’s another potential breakout pitching prospect to watch.
Geremy Villoria, RHP, Phillies: Villoria checks a lot of boxes teams look for in a young starting pitcher. Signed out of Venezuela for $425,000, Villoria is 16 until Aug. 14, making him one of the youngest pitchers signed this year. There’s significant room for him to add weight to his 6-foot-3, 180-pound build and add to a fastball that has already reached 95 mph. He throws with a compact arm swing, gets good extension and shows feel to snap off a high spin slider that’s ahead of his changeup.
Brian Tiburcio, RHP, Rockies: The Rockies signed a slew of pitchers this year who have the potential to take a step forward this year. One with a chance to develop an elite fastball is Tiburcio, a 17-year-old from the Dominican Republic who got $425,000. At 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, he has an extra-large build with a fastball that touches 94 mph and has the potential to get to triple digits if everything clicks. He’s not wild but it is power over command, with a chance to develop a hard slider that’s further along than his changeup.
Shai Romero, RHP, Dodgers: The Dodgers added Romero in December at the close of the 2024 international signing period. Romero is 17 until Aug. 22, so he was one of the youngest players in the 2024 class and will still pitch the entire DSL season as a 17-year-old. At 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, Romero has an extra-large build with a fastball that was up to 94 mph when he signed and is now up to 98 mph. It’s a power attack led by his fastball, along with a hard, cutter-like slider and occasional firm changeup.
Anderson Diaz, LHP, Tigers: Diaz signed with the Tigers for $447,500, the second-highest bonus this year for a lefthander. It’s prototype building blocks for a 17-year-old lefty with a projectable frame (6-foot-3, 190 pounds), a fastball that has trended up to reach 92 mph with more in the tank and starter traits. Diaz can disrupt the timing of hitters with an advanced changeup that plays well off his fastball and shows feel to spin a curveball as well.
Juan Fraide, RHP, Astros: So far all the pitchers we’ve listed here are 16 or 17, but when we look back, there are always pitchers who signed at older ages who end up being great big leaguers who just went under the radar. Last year, Astros righthander Anderson Brito—a $10,000 signing from Venezuela—dominated the DSL as a 19-year-old, finished the season in Low-A and became a top 10 prospect in the organization. It’s hard to match Brito’s ascent, but the Astros have another promising 19-year-old ticketed for the DSL in Fraide, who signed for $10,000 out of Mexico. Fraide is 5-foot-11, 160 pounds with a physically unassuming frame but with a fastball that reaches 96 mph and the ability to spin a slider and curveball above 3,000 rpm, along with feel for a changeup and a cutter that he mixes in.
