July 2nd is a holiday of sorts for the most diehard baseball prospect followers. This marks the "opening" of the international amateur market for teams to officially sign international players who are not eligible for the Rule IV draft. I use the quotes because many teams already have unofficial deals in place with the top-ranked players for months before July 2nd rolls around. After a relatively conservative stategy in the international market in 2012 and 2013 years, the Astros have since made some aggressive plays for top interntaional talent. Armed with over $5 million last summer, Luhnow and international director Oz Ocampo spent all of that money, allocating it among three of the top 30 prospects and a plethora of other youngsters, mostly from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic to fill out the Astros' interntaional academies.
Astros July 2 Update- Celestino Highlights International Free Agent Class
