Joseph Deng, 17, has joined the Dodgers, turning into the primary South Sudanese participant to signal an expert baseball contract.
Baseball America experiences that Deng, a right-handed pitcher, captivated scouts together with his “fastball/splitter mixture.” He can attain speeds of as much as 95 miles per hour (152 kilometers) together with his fastball.
Though not a lot is thought about Deng’s early profession in baseball, he started to garner consideration in February 2024, in response to The PlayOffs.
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That month, Charlie Meyer, an X person who helps up-and-coming African baseball expertise, shared a video of Deng throwing in a transfer to unfold the phrase about him.
Meyer wrote in his submit, “Joseph Deng RHP from South Sudan Large bodily projection as he stands 6 ‘6 toes tall! This video is from some time in the past however sound mechanics are current. I’m within the technique of getting some latest video with a radar gun. Undoubtedly one to observe.”
Deng stands 201 cm (6 toes 7 inches) tall and weighs 185 kilos (83 kg). In accordance with WBSC, the scouting report describes him as having “an especially lanky, long-limbed body with tons of area to fill out and proceed so as to add velocity as soon as he will get stronger.”
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The MLB Worldwide Signing Interval began on January 15. Deng turned the second African participant to enroll with an enormous league group this 12 months. He joined Ugandan infielder Armstrong Muhoozi, who joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024.
Whereas most groups are concentrating on Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, the Dodgers are one in every of solely two groups (the opposite group is the Pittsburgh Pirates) to start out making investments within the African baseball market, in response to Dodger Blue.
Through the 2021-22 worldwide signing interval, the Dodgers additionally made historical past with the signings of pitcher Ben Serunkuma and catcher Umar Male as they had been the primary two gamers to signal contracts from Uganda.
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