St. Louis Cardinals international signee receives superstar comparison

When it comes to the international signees in Major League Baseball, it's the equivalent of buying a lottery ticket. These international signees are often young players who would be high schoolers here stateside. There's a chance they pan out to be superstars, but there's an equal if not greater chance that they fade into the abyss like several other minor leaguers.

These young players occasionally receive outlandish comps that will only set them up for failure. While there's a possibility that they do reach these heights, being even mentioned in the same breath as players like Juan Soto, Jose Ramirez, and Fernando Tatis Jr. Is noteworthy for these youngsters.

If the St. Louis Cardinals want to return to their ways of success, international free agency is the way to find cheap superstars. The new draft-and-develop model that Chaim Bloom and the DeWitt family is looking to implement places even greater importance on international free agency than there was before.

The Cardinals have had moderate success when it comes to international free agency of late. Carlos Martinez, Sandy Alcantara, Randy Arozarena, and Ivan Herrera were all international free agents. Only Ivan Herrera and Carlos Martinez have made significant contributions to the Cardinals over the last decade.

The Cardinals have been quite busy in international free agency recently, and one of their recent signees has received a magnificent comparison.

Emmanuel Luna, an international signee by the St. Louis Cardinals, has received comparisons to Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees.

The St. Louis Cardinals verbally agreed to a contract in international free agency with outfielder Emmanuel Luna from the Dominican Republic. Initial reports stated that Luna's agreement with the Cardinals would be worth around $3 million. For an organization that has frequently gone for quantity over quality when it comes to international free agency, signing a player who has the potential to be a star was a change in approach.

Luna, a six-foot-two outfielder weighing in at 185 pounds, has the potential to rank among the greats who hail from the city of Santo Domingo like Juan Soto, Marcell Ozuna, and Jeremy Pena. According to MLB Pipeline, he is equipped with tons of physical projection and already has “the look” that many teams search for.

Luna boasts plus raw power with his right-handed stroke. He sprays the ball across the field, and he has an advanced feel for hitting and strike-zone recognition that helps him to play like a more experienced player. Scouts see his accuracy on the defensive side as a greater feature than his pure arm strength, but he's still no slouch when it comes to throwing batters out. He has the potential to be a 30/30 player down the road.

Luna has the potential to be great, and he's even been given the nickname of the Dominican Aaron Judge due to his power potential and size.

The 2026 MLB international signing period begins on January 15th, 2026, and ends on December 15th, 2026. The Cardinals will most certainly finish this deal early in the process to lock up Luna, who turns 17 the day the signing period opens.

The St. Louis Cardinals signing Emmanuel Luna is a clear sign that they're taking international free agency seriously. There are a million different ways this teenager could go after signing, but the Cardinals hope they found a diamond in the rough.