Chicago Cubs land prospect Daniel Benschop from Aruba

Thirteen international prospects have been signed by the Chicago Cubs since Saturday, the latest coming in the form of outfielder Daniel Benschop. Multiple outlets, including Baseball America, reported the signing and Benschop confirmed it on his Instagram account.

He is the first prospect out of Aruba signed by the Cubs per Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com. According to perfectgame.org, the new Cubs prospect is 16 years old, 6-2 165 lbs and last played with the Miami Miracles International organization of youth baseball.

Adding more depth to the Chicago Cubs farm system

Of the 13 international prospects the Cubs have signed, 12 of them are position players. Benschop is the fourth outfielder of this group. Based on a post from Baseball Aruba on Facebook, the Cubs have been dedicated to signing the 16-year-old outfielder as they posted he was being signed back in August. Of course, he did not actually sign the contract until this week, as there was no way he could ink a deal before the international signing period.

Benschop has been scouted for some time. Back in 2019 a video of him during batting practice as a member of the Aruba Stars Academy and playing in an international tournament was posted by Diamond Prospect Media on Twitter.

At the time he was listed as an infielder and was said to have a “lean frame with room to fill out” while “having a good feel for the barrel with quick hands.” The video shows a very high leg kick, which will likely be altered when he plays professional ball.

More recent footage of him can be seen on YouTube from Futura Estrella del béisbol’s channel. It shows a compilation of running down the baseline, fielding in the outfield and more batting practice. This video was posted in September of 2020.

Several other prospects had been recently signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Cubs. This includes pitcher Freylin Silverio and shortstops Sandy Sanchez and Darlin de Leon. Silverio is the only pitcher to be signed in this round of international prospects so far.