A's dish out $4 million for promising international shortstop prospect who is son of former MLB player

The Athletics are envisioning a bright future.

They want an impressive shortstop from the Dominican Republic to be a part of that.

On Thursday, MLB's international signing period opened. And the A's made a big splash by signing Johenssy Colome, a 17-year old who they'll give a bonus of $4 million, according to MLB.com.

Colome is ranked by MLB.com as the No. 5 player in this international class. As of mid-day Thursday, he'd been given the second-biggest bonus number.

Already measuring 6-foot-2, Colome is a right-handed hitter.

He's the son of former Tampa Bay pitcher Jesus Colome.

"It’s not often that teenage prospects launch home runs," MLB.com's scouting report says. "But Colome has a tendency to get to that jumpy pop with frequency, consistently leveraging his swing well – so well in fact, that one evaluator mentioned the most recent occasion on which he saw an international prospect continually get to their launch point in such a manner was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Colome is a right-handed hitter with explosive hands and a solid contact rate, although he has been known to be a tad aggressive in the box as a means of getting to said power."

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A comparison to Vladdy certainly is an exciting one.

The next paragraph compares him to Manny Machado, too.

"Something of an athletic marvel at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds at age 16, Colome is an agile athlete who shows a lot of lateral quickness," MLB.com continues. "The fluidity of his movements and strong arm led to a Manny Machado comparison being hung on him defensively. Much like the seven-time All-Star, Colome may move off short as his frame fills out, but he’s a tremendously dedicated worker and has the feet, soft hands and instincts to stick at the premium position."

He certainly seems like someone the A's will look forward to having rise through their system, and if it all works out, it sounds like he could be a star.

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