Beltré attended Liceo Máximo Gómez High School. While working out at Campo Las Palmas in 1994, a Los Angeles Dodgers facility – one of the first of its kind for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team in the Dominican Republic – Beltré was spotted by scouts Ralph Avila and Pablo Peguero. Though only 15 and weighing , Beltré featured a quick swing and live throwing arm. On the insistence of Avila and Peguero, the Dodgers signed him in July 1994 with a $23,000 signing bonus.