This is a very nice summary, and thank you for putting it together. Do you happen to know the numbers during Dombrowsk’s time? I may well be wrong, but I thought this switch in approach preceded Bloom’s tenure.
The representation of pitchers in the 2017 IFA class (more than 55% of players but just 7% of bonuses) was very similar to 2022 (almost 52% but less than 6%). In general, though, pitchers in the IFA classes prior to Bloom represented a smaller share of players and a larger share of bonuses.
2015: 52.9% of players (43.8% of players to reportedly receive a bonus), 35.0% of bonuses
This class has produced Gregory Santos (one of just three IFA pitchers to receive a bonus of more than $200k) and Bryan Mata.
Individual bonuses were capped at $300k as a consequence of signing Yoan Moncada the prior year.
2016: Pitcher Hector Velazquez ($30k) was the only IFA player to receive a bonus as the Red Sox were placed on double-secret probation for attempting to circumvent the individual bonus cap in 2015.
2017: 55.2% of players, 7.0% of bonuses
This class has produced Brayan Bello, Felix Cepeda (one of four IFA pitchers to receive a bonus of $40k or more), and Aldo Ramirez.
2018: 40.9% of players, 20.7% of bonuses
This class has produced Angel Bastardo, Juan D. Encarnacion, and Wikelman Gonzalez (one of two IFA pitchers to receive a bonus of more than $180k).
2019 (excluding December and 2020): 37.5% of players, 28.7% of bonuses
This class has produced Chih-Jung Liu (the only IFA pitcher to receive a bonus of more than $200k), Yordanny Monegro, and Luis Perales.
It should be noted that the International Scouting Director position has been fairly stable between Dombrowski’s tenure and Bloom’s. Cherington holdover Mike Rikard was the director in 2015 but was sacked for his involvement in attempting to circumvent the individual bonus cap. Todd Claus effectively replaced Rikard in 2016 and remained in that position through 2023, although he has shared the title with Rolando Pino since 2019.
I am hesitant to assign too much credit or blame to the likes of Dombrowski and Bloom for IFA success or failure. While ultimately the players are their responsibility, the recruiting process frequently precedes their tenure and the development process often follows their tenure.
So while the development of Bello, Gonzalez, and Perales during Bloom’s tenure is a positive, parsing the credit between those who identified the talent and those who have developed the skills is well beyond my understanding. This is not to deny Bloom any credit, it is simply an admission that I am no more comfortable giving him credit for Bello, Gonzalez, and Perales than I am assigning him blame that Brayan Aquino and Gabriel Jackson have failed to develop while Chih-Jung Liu seems to be trending toward relief and was passed over in the Rule 5 Draft.