The big names of the class were the lefty-righty combo of Jose Castillo and Jose Mujica, both out of Venezuela, with Castillo receiving $1.55MM and Mujica getting a million dollars flat. The Rays have become an organization defined by its pitching, and Castillo and Mujica are poised to add to the tradition. Castillo, just 16, stands out as an athletic 6’4″, 200 right-hander with a smooth delivery that already touches 93 MPH and could peak in the mid-90′s as he continues to fill out. He also throws a curveball and a changeup, with the curveball flashing nice, sharp break. Castillo needs plenty of work repeating his delivery, getting consistent life on his fastball and action on his secondary pitches, and controlling everything, but he has plenty of time to resolve those issues as he’s just getting his career started. Mujica isn’t quite as projectable at 6’2″, 180, but he’s able to get impressive sink on his fastball in the 89-91 MPH, touching 93 MPH, and he wows evaluators with an outstanding changeup from the arm slot as his fastball with late bottoming-out action. Mujica doesn’t really have much of a breaking ball right now and of course has plenty of work with control and command in addition to bulking up and adding strength, but he’s another pitcher with upper-echelon upside if everything pans out. Among other pitchers the Rays signed on the international market were Venezuelan lefty Frehumar Rivas and Dominican right-hander Deivy Mendez.

While pitching is something that has become a major source of pride for the Rays, the players doing the catching have never developed nearly the same reputation, with the Rays never developing an All-Star catcher to this point in their franchise’s history (Dioner Navarro was acquired via trade). One player the Rays hope can help rectify that is Venezuelan catcher David Rodriguez, who is 16 years of age and signed for $600,000. Rodriguez, 5’11″ and 190 pounds, stands out thanks to a solid all-around game on both sides of the ball. At the plate, he shows a smooth, compact swing, making a lot of contact with flashes of solid power, although his plate discipline needs plenty of work. Defensively, Rodriguez especially shines, showing excellent athleticism and moves well behind the plate, and he makes an average arm play up thanks to a quick release. He’s also known as a good game-caller for his age. Rodriguez has plenty in which he’ll need to develop as he works his way up through the minor leagues, but the Rays think he could be an above-average catcher in the major leagues if everything goes right. 18 year old Dominican catcher Eric Maria is less developed at this point, but he shows nice athleticism at 6’2″, 195, good arm strength and some power, and the Rays will take every talented catching prospect they can get at this point as they hope one of them pans out and becomes that solid starting catcher that had eluded the Rays their entire history.

With players like Castillo, Mujica, and Rodriguez highlighting an impressive international free agent class, the Rays are excited to see exactly what these players amount to in coming years. Signing international free agents has never been something the Rays have excelled, developing most of their talent through the draft and through trades, but the Rays know that international signings are another avenue to player development and that putting in just a little more money can go in long way. Pitching prospects Alex Colome, Enny Romero, and Felipe Rivero are three of the surprisingly few impressive prospects the Rays have developed over the years through international free agency. The Rays hope that this past year’s class will be the start of a breakthrough on that front that will reverberate in the major leagues in the years to come.

Mujica, 6’2″ and 180 pounds, gets a nice birthday present, having turned 16 on June 29th. Mujica ranked among the top international prospects this summer thanks to a couple of pitches that fit the Rays profile. Mujica throws a fastball in the low-90′s that has topped out at 93 MPH so far, but what distinguishes it is not just its velocity, but its movement. Mujica’s fastball features late sink along with armside run, making it a swing-and-miss pitch and a very difficult pitch to elevate when he can keep it down in the zone. Mujica is a candidate to add more velocity as he fills out. Mujica’s second pitch is the Rays’ signature offering, a changeup. Mujica has great arm action on his change, which features more downward action and horizontal movement away from right-handed batters. He sells it as his fastball before forcing some very weak swings as it dives out of the zone. Mujica also throws a curveball that hasn’t progressed much yet, but he is still just 16. Mujica controls his top two pitches well, and the key for him will be to work on his command and get his breaking ball up to speed. Mujica has a lot of maturing to do, in terms of filling out, developing his pitches, and of courses age-wise, but he is another promising pitching prospect that the Rays are excited to add into the fold.

Not much information out there on Mendez right now. I’ll make sure to do an article on him when the information is available.

Rodriguez is a strong 5’11″, 195 catcher who possesses a solid all-around game. Rodriguez shows a compact swing with the ability to hit line drives to all fields. He is a relatively patient hitter who makes a lot of contact but has a decent idea of which pitches to drive. Rodriguez’s power is more to the gaps than to the fences. Defensively, Rodriguez has a good arm and is comfortable at the catcher position, but he has work to do in terms of the fluidity of his motions across the board. Rodriguez has shown good ability both offensively and defensively and gives the Rays another talent at a position of organizational weakness.

Now to the complete opposite edge of the spectrum and major league news. Hideki Matsui left Monday night’s game with a hamstring pull that is expected to sideline him for a few days (Marc Topkin). But the bigger news may be Joe Maddon.

Maddon latest on #Rays injury list, aggravated old college football injury on right pinkie, will get x-ray

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) July 3, 2012

Maddon may miss the entire football season! Hope Joe feels better and won’t have to actually undergo any type of procedure that would cause him to miss time.

And Sam Fuld is coming back!

#Rays Fuld says he’ll start rehab assignment Saturday w/Class A Charlotte at Jupiter

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) July 3, 2012

The Rays have lacked a true fourth outfielder that they are comfortable taking at-bats late in games all season, and Fuld provides that along with speed of the bench. Hopefully the rehab will go well and Super Sam will return to the lineup for his first at-bats of the season within a couple of weeks.