The Next Felix?

The Seattle Mariners, major league baseball team located in Seattle, WA, have just signed the #7 international prospect of the summer signing period (although many scouts rated him as the best pitcher internationally this summer). Luiz Henrique Pego Gohara is a 16-year-old left-handed pitcher from the city of Bastos in Brazil. The teenager was registered as the third best pitcher, and second best left hander on the list, behind only Jose Mujica and Jose Castillo who have both signed with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Luiz Gohara who just turned 16 years old on July 31 is listed at 6 foot 3, 220 pounds. Gohara stood out to the Mariners' scouts because of his 94 mph fastball along with a quality slider. The scouts from Seattle have been following the youngster's career since he was 14 years old and finally made the decision to sign him to a U$ 880,000 dollars and 6 years deal, with significant bonuses throughout the years.

Emilio Carrasquel, the Venezuelan scout for the Mariners, did not have an easy time signing Luiz Gohara. According to sources in the Brazilian Baseball Confederation there were over 12 teams in Major League Baseball in the mix to sign the Brazilian hurler. Carrasquel was one of the scouts in charge of bringing Felix Hernandez to the Seattle Mariners, and both stories are very similar.

Hernandez was discovered by a Mariners scout when he was 14 in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Carrasquel and two other Mariners scouts were impressed with the youngster Hernandez's fastball, that was already touching 92 mph. As soon as Felix Hernandez turned 16, and in accordance to MLB rules was eligible to sign a contract, the Mariners offered him a deal and Hernandez accepted it. Coincidences? Maybe...