A look at the Braves 2026 international class

The international signing period started on Thursday, with the Braves welcoming a slew of new prospects into their farm system, headlined by shortstop Jose Manon, who was ranked as the 15th best international prospect in this year’s class by MLB.com.

Full List of Braves 2026 International Prospect Class (Via Baseball America)

• Jose Mañon, SS, Dominican Republic ($1.5 million)
• Starling De La Cruz, OF, Dominican Republic ($1.2 million)
• Edelson Cabral, OF, Dominican Republic ($600,000)
• Jonathan Hechavarria, RHP, Cuba ($340,000)
• Efrailin Caminero, RHP, Dominican Republic
• Geowin Gomez, RHP, Colombia
• Matthew Luna, RHP, Dominican Republic
• Jorwin Pulido, C, Venezuela
• Durban Arnedo, INF, Colombia
• Luis Fortunato, INF, Dominican Republic
• Osmar Torrealba, OF, Venezuela

Several more prospects are expected to join that list, most likely very soon. Also important to note: international prospects who sign for $10,000 or less do not count against the Braves’ international bonus pool of $6,679,200, so expect a few more names to be added from that pool as well.

The Braves took a slightly different approach than they have in the past, spreading the wealth across the entire class instead of going all in on a couple of players as they did last year, when they signed Diego Tornes to a $2.5 million signing bonus and Raudy Reyes to a $1.8 million bonus.

Tornes is currently the 14th-ranked prospect in the Braves system, according to MLB.com. But while big, expensive names are exciting, large signing bonuses do not guarantee success. None of these players are even 18 years old yet, making it nearly impossible to accurately project their trajectories.

Ronald Acuña Jr. received a signing bonus of just $100,000 and quickly became the top prospect in all of baseball before winning an MVP. Ozzie Albies signed for $350,000, and more recently, John Gil — one of the Braves’ top position players in the system — signed for just $110,000 back in 2023. Comparatively, Luis Guanipa, who was in the same international class as Gil and ranked much lower on Atlanta’s prospect list, received a $2.5 million bonus.

Over the years, the Braves have been among the best organizations at developing international talent, ranking third in WAR produced since 2012, even with several seasons of international restrictions working against them. This is a franchise that thrives on finding and developing talent everywhere, which always makes this a fun day on the offseason calendar.