Dodgers sign Dominican SS Lucas Tirado

The Dodgers have made their biggest splash yet in the 2013-2014 international signing period with the signing of shortstop Lucas Tirado, a 16-year-old from the Dominican Republic. The Dodgers gave Tirado a $1 million bonus, per Dionisio Soldevila of ESPN Deportes.

Tirado is a switch-hitting shortstop listed between 6'1" and 6'2" and between 180 and 186 pounds.

With Tirado's bonus and the reported $400,000 total given to Venezuelan outfielder Daniel Padilla and Venezuelan right-handed pitcher Alvaro Trillo, the Dodgers have already spent $1.4 million of their $2,322,600 international spending cap.

Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com and Ben Badler at Baseball America both like his swing from the left side, and both think he eventually moves off shortstop.

From Mayo:

At the plate, the switch-hitter has one of the better left-handed swings in the entire class - a line-drive stroke to all fields - and good bat speed. He's been described as "raw" and there is still room for improvement offensively, but Tirado has shown occasional power and many believe he will improve at the plate as he matures.

From Badler:

He’s a below-average runner with a fringy arm who doesn’t have the range for shortstop. In an ideal world he would make enough strides defensively to play second base.

Here is video: