Just ahead of the start of the 2021 Dominican Summer League, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed 17-year-old Venezuelan catcher Jhosmmel Zue out of the Francisco Ortiz Just Prospect Baseball Academy. Zue was signed after putting together one of the best tournaments in the 14-game Strike Zone League. He finished fifth in the league in batting, first in hits, doubles, RBIs, extra-base hits and runs scored. He’s listed at 5’11”, 146 pounds, right-handed hitter.
They also added 17-year-old left-handed Venezuelan pitcher Juan Amarante two days before they signed Zue. He’s 5’10”, 177 pounds. Don’t have any other info on him yet, but I’ll eventually get a report and add it to the site.
UPDATED:
Aramante throws a fastball in the 89-91 MPH, easy arm action, maintains his velocity well and he has some command of the pitch, working both sides of the plate. It has heavy movement, with a tailing action. There’s room to add about another five MPH as well. His curveball is his best pitch, with good biting action and depth. He can use it in any count. It sits 74-77 MPH. It’s a swing-and-miss pitch. His changeup is 81-84 and it has the same tailing action as his fastball, though it’s clearly his third pitch now. He has good lower body strength, an easy, repeatable delivery and the potential to be a starter with his three-pitch mix.
These are the first signings since the Pirates added Kevison Hernandez back on April 15th. They have now signed 23 players during the 2020-21 international signing period. The link to our signing tracker is broke, so we will probably have to create a new one.
