True to his word, new Dodger president and CEO Stan Kasten and the Los Angeles Dodgers today announced the signing of several players from Latin America, including both the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti made the announcement on Kasten’s behalf.

The Dodgers have signed or are in the process of signing more than 20 players from Latin America, including at least 10 position players and 10 pitchers.

“Besides the recent signings, with the support from ownership, we are fully prepared to be strong participants in the upcoming signing period in Latin America,” said Colletti. “With our renewed resources in that area and the upcoming First-Year Player Draft next month, we look forward to adding many talented young players to the Dodger family. Our Assistant General Manager of Scouting Logan White and his staff have begun a strong and vital effort in a very important process to the future of the player development portion of the Dodgers’ organization.”

The Dodgers have a longstanding tradition of signing future big league players out of the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. The team opened the doors on the first-ever baseball academy in the Dominican on March 27, 1987, naming it Campo Las Palmas. Current Dodger players and alumni that have been signed out of Latin America include Rubby De La Rosa, Elian Herrera, Kenley Jansen, Raul Mondesi, Pedro and Ramon Martinez, Adrian Beltre, Pedro Astacio, Omar Daal and Roger Cedeno.

The first round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft begins on June 4. The Dodgers hold picks No. 18 and 51 (supplemental first round choice). Last year’s first-round draft pick was Stanford left-hander Chris Reed, who is currently pitching for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.