Oscar Colas, the Cuban Ohtani, is coming to MLB and everybody’s going to want him – Yahoo Sports

Every couple of years, theres an international baseball prospect that every fan needs to learn the name of and who becomes the subject of a bidding war. Enter Oscar Colas.

Colas is a 21-year-old two-way player from Cuba who has been called the Cuban Ohtani and is, as of Friday, on his way to Major League Baseball. Hes a 6-foot-1, 209-pound outfielder and pitcher who isbeing calledone of the best prospects from Cuba in years.

Francys Romerofrom MLBsLos Mayoresreports thatColas left Cuba early Fridayand has an MLB contract in his sights. Colas has already played professionally in Japan, hitting .302/.350/.516 over 66 games last season. Hes played pro ball in Cuba since he was 17.

He didnt pitch in Japan, but Colas is a left-hander with a 95 mph fastball according to ESPNs Jeff Passan, who has the early look at Colas market:

The real question, as Passan says, is when Colas signs. July is when a new international signing period opens and teams will have the most international bonus money available. It could take that long for Colas status to get cleared by MLB too, since hell have to establish residency in another country before coming to the U.S. But if that happens quickly, theres a chance a team with leftover international bonus money tries to sign him before July.

The Chicago White Sox, who have been in on most Cuban prospects over the past decade and are building around fellow Cubans Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert and Jose Abreu, figure to be a favorite landing spot. The Angels, who already have the Japanese Ohtani,could be interested.

But it sounds like interest will be wide. Probably not to Ohtani levels, but certainly in line with some of the other Cuban defectors weve seen come to MLB.

Here are a couple of videos on Colas to watch while you hope youre favorite team enters the Colas sweepstakes:

Mike Ozis a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him atmikeozstew@yahoo.comor follow him on Twitter!Follow @mikeoz

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Oscar Colas, the Cuban Ohtani, is coming to MLB and everybody's going to want him - Yahoo Sports