BRISTOL, Va. - One of the absolute best things about rookie leagues like the Appalachian League is that relative unknown prospects can emerge now that they have left Pirate City and gain exposure. This can happen because of age, physical development, and the sheer difficulty of projecting how young men will grow into baseball players.
Signed for $175,000 in the 2014 international free agent class, Domingo Robles comes to Bristol after mediocre results in the GCL in 2016, but he’s showing enough growth in 2017 to land himself on the prospect map with the ceiling of a #5 MLB starter or reliever—a great outcome for a relatively small investment in the international market.