Phillies sign switch-hitting shortstop Jesus Starlyn Caba

About two years ago, Sal Agostinelli went to a tournament in the Dominican Republic to take a closer look at shortstop prospect Jesus Starlyn Caba. He was blown away by Caba’s quick feet and hands, his plus arm, and his plus range, but what impressed him even more was Caba’s maturity. At 15 years old, the shortstop was directing traffic on the field, moving players around, making sure everyone was in the right spots. It was obvious that he was a natural leader.

Agostinelli, the Phillies’ director of international scouting, has worked on the team’s scouting staff since 1993. He’s evaluated thousands of players, but he says, without hesitation, that Caba is the best defensive shortstop prospect he’s ever seen.

As of Sunday, Caba is officially a member of the Phillies organization, after signing a $3 million deal on international signing day. He was one of 18 Dominican and Venezuelan players who were signed on Sunday, all of their contracts pending physicals. The Phillies also expect to sign a pitcher from Taiwan, Wen-Hui Pan, on Monday, as well as a catching prospect out of Panama, Eduardo Tait.

Agostinelli knows that this can be a humbling business, but he is convinced that Caba is a sure big-leaguer.

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“Body type, I compare him to Francisco Lindor,” Agostinelli said. “I don’t know if he’s going to have Lindor’s power, but he can play shortstop every bit as good as Lindor right now. I think Caba is going to be more of a No. 2 hitter, line drive, .270, hit some doubles. He has a little pop in his bat, too. But he’s 17. It’s kind of difficult to put a power grade on a guy when he’s so young.

“But he’s really good, defensively. He’s as good as it gets, in my opinion. I think the only thing that would stop him from playing in the big leagues, defensively, right now, is that he’d make some errors — just because he’d be in awe. Like the emotion of it. But he’s going to be there. I’ve been doing this for 27 years, and I’ve never seen a shortstop move around like he did. I really haven’t.”

Caba is 5-foot-11 and 158 pounds. He is a switch-hitter, and according to Agostinelli, has plus hands, plus feet, a plus arm, and “instincts that are off the charts.” He runs 6.7-6.8 seconds in the 60-yard dash. Caba will report to the Phillies’ academy in the Dominican Republic on Jan. 22, where he’ll take part in a high-performance camp. He will play with the Phillies’ Dominican Summer League team for his first season.

Agostinelli estimates that Caba is about five or six years away from making the big leagues. He was ranked No. 13 on MLB.com’s Top 50 international list.

“At the end of the day, you know what you’re getting with this guy,” Agostinelli said of Caba. “There’s not a lot of vagueness to it, in my opinion. There’s a lot to like here.”