Marco Paddy can't officially talk about the newest White Sox international signings until Friday, but he did what he could to hype them over the weekend via a terrific interview on 670 The Score's "Inside the Clubhouse." Matt Spiegel and Bruce Levine acknowledged that Paddy wouldn't be able to confirm that the Sox had agreements with Norge Vera and Yoelqui Céspedes, but Paddy obliged them when they asked if he could give his impressions of both Cubans.
Regarding Céspedes:
He's a very good athlete. He's got ability to be a natural center fielder, and can really play some defense. He's a plus runner, he's got an extremely strong, plus-plus arm, and he's a smart hitter. Obviously since he's been here in the States he's worked extremely hard to develop some extra power. Most Cuban players don't lift weights in Cuba, so once he got here, he started working extremely hard and is showing some plus power. [...]
From a baseball standpoint, he's ready. He's got a lot of baseball experience. His baseball IQ is very high. He's very knowledgeable about the game. He knows how to play the game. He's one of those guys that plays under control, so it's just a matter of getting used to the everyday grind of playing professional baseball here in the States, but from a baseball standpoint, he's very close to being a major league player.
Regarding Vera:
Norge comes from a very unique background because his dad was one of the best pitchers in Cuban history. Very good arm. Seen him since he was 16 years old. Also, 6'4". His fastball, I've seen it anywhere between 95 and 97 mile-an-hour range. Plus breaking ball, plus slider, extremely good feel for the changeup. He's got a great body, great ability to locate and pitch, strong feel for the strike zone. He projects as a starter in the major leagues.
Those are exciting, encouraging descriptions. Paddy doesn't seem to traffic in others of any kind. Whether discussing Céspedes, Vera or Elijah Tatis later in the show, he omitted all weaknesses or worries outside of the standard lack of stateside experience.
That said, the descriptions of the strengths alone -- if advertised -- make slotting them in White Sox prospect rankings a fairly straightforward exercise, at least to me. Céspedes becomes the organization's third-highest position player behind Andrew Vaughn and Nick Madrigal, whereas Vera slots somewhere in the section featuring Jared Kelley, Matthew Thompson and Andrew Dalquist.
As for Tatis, Paddy described him as a better shortstop than his brother, Fernando Tatis Jr., at the same age, due to better agility and a more compact body type that's more traditional for the position. As for the other stuff that makes Fernando Jr. special? Paddy didn't draw comparisons.
It's a shame that Paddy can't really rave about Fernando Jr., who would be the pound-for-pound biggest feather in his cap were he not dealt away in what's now every baseball fan's go-to reference for A Really Bad Trade. Here's hoping the White Sox's most exciting international signing deadline since Luis Robert gives everybody a chance to establish new bragging points.
(Photo via @whitesox on Twitter)
