The Yankees made an unprecedented move in 2014 when they signed over 30 international prospects. That included ten of the top 30, five of the top nine, and the top two overall. That got even Baseball America’s attention:
Other teams have broken their bonus pools, and other teams have spent big money on international amateur talent before the bonus pool era, but no team has ever done what the Yankees did last year.
The reason? Predictions and projections are difficult as most of these players were just 16 when signed. The regular player draft is hard enough, and those guys are 18-24.