Youngest Marlins international signing Kevin Defrank already 'more advanced' than other pitchers

[Kevin Barral]

Despite being only 16 years old, right-handed pitcher Kevin Defrank could climb up the ranks quickly.

Andrew Salas is the top prospect in this year's Miami Marlins international signing class and understandably commanded the largest bonus, but there's some depth to this class as well. The second-largest bonus went to right-handed pitcher Kevin Defrank, who the organization believes has the potential to develop into a great MLB pitcher.

Signing for $560k out of the Dominican Republic, Defrank enters pro ball listed at 6'5", 202 pounds. He just turned 16 years old on August 11, which makes him the youngest member of the 2025 Marlins IFA class. MLB Pipeline ranked him 40th among all international amateurs who were eligible to sign.

Defrank's arsenal consists of a fastball, sweeper and changeup. His fastball has already reached 95 mph and he has the physical projection to increase his velocity significantly down the road.

"We're very excited about Kevin Defrank," said Marlins director of international scouting David Hernandez Beayne. "He's one of the most advanced pitchers I've ever seen in my short career of doing international baseball. We're equally as excited with understanding how good our development system is with pitchers, especially Dominican pitchers, and how he's going to further develop an already advanced skill set to begin with."

Defrank's changeup is "unusually advanced for his age thanks to its sink and fade," said Baseball America in their signing day report. Pipeline is similarly impressed, considering it a 60-grade pitch (out of 80). The development of his sweeper and possible addition of a fourth pitch will go a long toward determining whether he ultimately sticks as a starter, but his fastball/changeup combo will serve him well in any role.

"He's got a really good foundation to begin with," said Hernandez Beayne. "He's been involved in our process, coaches are fully aware of what he brings to the table. I'm equally as excited to begin working with him and getting that process going. I think because he is so advanced in certain areas, he should put himself in a really good position for his talent to show up on the field."

In all likelihood, Defrank will begin his minor league career in the Dominican Summer League, but he could come stateside as soon as 2026 and consistently face older competition from there.

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[rurrusuno]

Is it just me or are we starting to see different sports offering more money to players that aren't even 18 yet?

It's been a thing for a while now with soccer clubs and of course in the rapid expansion of the MLS. There have been numerous 14 year olds that have already signed contracts before!

NIL is now a dominant factor in collegiate sports, primarily in college football. Players have way more leverage nowadays with their decisions and the best ones are able to earn millions of dollars before even wearing their team's jersey for the first time.

The youngest player to sign an international contract in the MLB was a 13-year-old back in the 80's! That pretty much set the landscape for other minors to sign contracts with major league teams and as time has moved on, the bonuses have increased big time. 

It's probably even happening in other leagues that I'm not even aware of. The potential is obviously there for any kid that's decent in a particular sport. 

[THOMAS JOSEPH]

MLB continues to lose ground with young for many reasons, but a large one is the emphasis on foreign players ("International" is the politically correct word). It appears that basketball, football, and now soccer have attained more interest than baseball from American kids (which is retained throughout their lives). MLB player composition will become less and less American. Of course, there is no recrimination or blame for those youngsters trying to achieve baseball success. It's about OUR priorities and the consequences of them. Reminds one of the failed economic policies, does it not? Move manufacturing to other countries. Reduce the desirability and dignity of labor so that we now must rely on foreigners for large swaths of many sectors, to whom lower wages are paid. Accordingly, we make little and are beholden. MLB is likewise fast approaching this scenario in our "national game." We can watch it happening in real time. I'm sure everything will work out fine, though, don't you? I mean, what could go wrong with our best minds in charge? Yeah.