Jesus Galiz is an 18-year-old catching prospect in the Dodgers organization who was signed in the 2020 International Signing period and joins Yeiner Fernandez and Diego Cartaya as catchers that hail from the South American country of Venezuela. Venezuela is a hotbed for baseball talent that has produced more than 400 Major Leaguers which is the 2nd most of all Latin American Countries behind only the Dominican Republic. Although Venezuela has long been a baseball hotbed, it no longer has an Affiliated Summer league, so Galiz had to make the 1422 mile trip to the Dominican Republic to play in their Summer League in 2021. The Dominican Summer League is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball and is the only Latin American Rookie League that is still in existence.
2021 was my first year as a professional baseball player, and, for me, it was a good year and a good season. I got to experience new things in my life, and I’m so excited about my future with the Dodgers. Right now I’m in Arizona in the early camp before Spring Training with the team, so the plan is for me to play here in Arizona for my 2nd season as a professional baseball player and I’m so happy and excited to get it all started.
Background
Galiz was originally expected to sign with the Yankees until New York pulled their offer with the reasoning of Covid reductions which opened the door for the Dodgers to sign the young Venezuelan who was the top catching prospect in the 2020 International class. The Dodgers have a great history with International players which is something that Galiz is excited about.
It’s such a good feeling to be a professional baseball player for the Dodgers because they have such a good history with International players. It’s really good to be a Dodgers player right now.
Growing up in Venezuela, Galiz grew to love baseball at an early age and had a father that was always his biggest influence. He loved spending time with his dad on and off the field and learned how to play baseball and most of his life’s lessons under his guidance.
I always loved spending time with my father. He was always my biggest influence as a child and for my whole life. I’ve been playing baseball since I was 3 years old, and my whole family, my father, my grandfather all played it so I think baseball just runs in the family and that’s why I love it.
Tragically, Galiz lost his father in 2021 to Covid, and while it was a devastating blow, he has learned to use it as inspiration.
My father passed away 1 year ago from Covid and that was so hard. I really can’t even explain what it felt like and I don’t really have words for it because he was my inspiration everyday, so I’m doing everything for him to give thanks to him.
Galiz’s dad was more than just a father, he was also a great baseball coach and put Jesus in situations that gave him great experience in the game.
I have a lot of experience because I played in National Tournaments and International Tournaments all through Little League. We traveled all through Venezuela, then also places like Guatemala and even in the United States. I only played for 1 team in Little League, all my childhood and throughout my life.
Feature Cut
Galiz checks several boxes that fit within the Dodger formula as he is the third catcher the Dodgers have taken from Venezuela in consecutive years, and, he grew up playing infield the same as Austin Barnes, Will Smith, and other catching prospects in the organization.
Yes, I was an infielder. I played infield literally my whole life and the infield helped a lot in making me a good catcher because it helped me learn to have quick feet, soft hands, and a lot of those kinds of things. It helped me be more athletic as a catcher.
Here was his response when asked about being the 3rd consecutive Venezuelan catcher taken by the Dodgers in consecutive years of the International Signing period.
Yeah, I know Diego and Yeiner and they are my friends and they are my teammates too as we are on the same team. We have a good relationship and Yeiner has helped me a lot with my defense and everything so we are good friends.
Offensively, Galiz is very talented and prides himself on using all fields, and with power.
I think I’m a hitter that uses the whole field. I can hit homeruns, I can hit doubles, I can hit triples or I can get just normal basehits. So I think my strength as a hitter is that I can use the whole field and I can hit with power.
Here’s a video of him taking B.P. working on all of those skills
And here it is in live-action
Wrapping Up
Galiz is just 18 years old, and so he has a lot of time to continue to grow his game in the organization. But, for his age, he has a lot of experience in the game because he has played in so many big tournaments in so many different parts of the world. And, he has 2 really good friends, Yeiner Fernandez and Diego Cartaya, that will help mentor him through the process. When you combine his experience with the game, great attitude, and love for baseball with the Dodgers instructional system, it’s gonna make for a very good situation.
