Joseph Deng became the first player from South Sudan ever to sign with an MLB team, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers yet another high-ceiling pitcher to develop.
Roki Sasaki may be the international signing generating the most headlines for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he isn’t the only trailblazer that the club added from overseas this weekend.
The Dodgers signed 17-year-old pitcher Joseph Deng on Saturday, acquiring the first prospect ever to turn pro out of South Sudan. The 6-foot-7, 185-pound right-hander has a 95 mile-per-hour fastball in his repertoire, as well as a well-regarded splitter.
Sasaki’s arrival ultimately didn’t stand in the way of Deng joining the Dodgers, but his signing was delayed a bit as Los Angeles waited for the Japanese righty to make his decision. Now, the club has both young pitchers locked up for the foreseeable future, even if Deng isn’t the MLB-ready prospect that Sasaki is.
Deng is only the second player to sign with an MLB organization out of Africa this year, joining Ugandan infielder Armstrong Muhoozi, who is now with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Only three of the Dodgers’ top-11 prospects are pitchers, and none of them are ranked inside MLB Pipeline’s Top 100. They may boast a cartoonish amount of talent making up their big league pitching staff – which was further bolstered by Sasaki, Blake Snell and Tanner Scott’s respective arrivals this winter – but their minor league ranks could always use more arms.
Deng, a high-ceiling prospect with a long road ahead of him, certainly seems worth taking a flier on. If he can fill out his frame and spin that extra strength into more velocity, Los Angeles could have another quality pitcher on their hands come 2030.
