Miguel Angel Sano Drawing Attention

I'd love to see the Cubs make a good run at Sano.

I like to see that they've been stocking up solid shortstop prospects in the past couple years, with the likes of Ryan Flaherty, Starlin Castro, and Hak-Ju Lee.

With the kind of revenue that the Cubs have, they really should be major players in Latin America.

Although obviously all thirty teams in the game are interested in a potentially elite shortstop prospect, those are arguably the most valuable position player commodities in the game, with the exception of elite hitting catchers.

If he's 15 in the Dominican what does that make him in the US? 37 or so?

From what I have heard, a lot of the south American born players give a lot back to their communities.

I constantly hear stories of players building parks, diamonds, training facilities, public pools and so on.

Even though the Rangers aren't going to need a shortstop for a while, I really hope they continue their great international signings and get a hold of this kid...he will be a stud!!!

looks like the yanks found themselves an hier to derek jeter"

Jeter needs to move off of shortstop within the next year or two, while Sano isn't likely to be MLB ready for a good 5-6 years, if he ever even pans out.

So, I guess they'll keep looking, unless they'd like to lie to themselves and believe that Ramiro Pena is the heir.
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Why the doubts about Pena? I certainly don't think he'll evr post the offensive numbers of Jeter but his glove is mlb ready and if he can manage to hit .260 then I'd be ready to make him my everyday SS.

Y'all talking about stuff like Mutumbo (sp?) does for his country in Africa? I'm pretty sure there are quite a few players that give a lot of money back and building fields and parks are pretty vital towards a country.

I would not compare a baseball acadamey education to that of even a genuine high school education. Most of what they teach at the academies are basic english and math, which if you're learning at age 14-16 means you're probably pretty far behind in the curve.

Again, I'm not knocking the players because obviously I/we don't know about every single charitable donation being made, BUT I imagine that by the looks of the infrastructure there's a lot more to do.

"I think he will be a superstar"

really? what's your definition of a super star? based on a short internet video clip you've determined this guy is the next jeter/rollins/hanley? tell some pro team to give you a job if you're that good, because i probably would've said that IT'S WAY TOO EARLY to make any kind of judgement like that. plenty of first-round draft picks don't make the bigs (matt bush, etc.) how can you be so sure that a 15 year old kid with a video will not only make the show but be a SUPERSTAR?!?!

The A's should pay up for this guy like they paid up for Ynoa.

"I think we've become spoiled by the Jeter's, Arod, Hanley's and Tejada's of the world. An elite defensive SS with modest offensive capabilities is still a valuable asset, especially on a team that can generate offense at almost every other position. I'l take a weak bat at SS as long as he can dazzle me with the glove. I'm sure the pitching staff would appreciate him."

I have to agree with this. I'll take an awesome defensive, weak offensive SS anyday.

I really can't get excited over a 16 year old SS. They are so hard to project. Should a team try and sign him? Absolutely. Should they give him a $3 mil bonus? I guess. $3 mil is peanuts in the baseball world and is in line with what a 1st round pick would get. But then again, he might struggle and not even make it out of DSL. It's not like playing the lottery where you don't seriously expect to win but you take your chances and hopes it pays off with a decent mlb player at worse.

If I were scouts, I would make sure, among other things, that this kid has had ZERO contact with Angel Presinal.

I still think the Yanks should get in on this. Yes, he won't be in the majors (If he does reach the majors) for another 3-6 years but Jeter is not going to be SS forever. The Yanks can also find a 1-2 year stop gap until he reaches, if this guy is as good as he sounds.

3 million for a prospect is actually pretty hefty. I mean, how many quailty relievers would take that for 1 year? There are teams that can risk 3 million but not all teams can afford the risk; especially if the guy isn't as young as he says.

YanksFanSince78:

You can say that you don't mean it but you are knocking the players. I mean, not every Dominican player can contribute as much as you proposed; only maybe a handful. I just don't think it's fair to instigate on how much they should donate because it is their money. I mean, WE all can donate. We can all spare a buck or two but a lot of us don't.

It's their money and if they don't want to donate, then so be it.

Also, the DR is not even in the top 100 poorest countries (GPD per capita). There are plenty of other places that need help and are worse off. So, if you want to start a crusade for help then it shouldn't just be for the DR.

Unforunately, in this economy, there won't be as many cntributions and there will be more need. Some people make a lot of money but it's still up to them to decide whether they should give or not.

"As for Ramiro, he's 23 and has started to handle the bat. If he can play all-star caliber defense AND hold a .265/.335 line"

Before March of this year, there were near zero indications that Pena could even be that kind of player. There's a reason that NOBODY had ever heard of him before Spring Training 2009.

YanksFanSince78:

You can say that you don't mean it but you are knocking the players. I mean, not every Dominican player can contribute as much as you proposed; only maybe a handful. I just don't think it's fair to instigate on how much they should donate because it is their money. I mean, WE all can donate. We can all spare a buck or two but a lot of us don't.

It's their money and if they don't want to donate, then so be it.

Also, the DR is not even in the top 100 poorest countries (GPD per capita). There are plenty of other places that need help and are worse off. So, if you want to start a crusade for help then it shouldn't just be for the DR.

Unforunately, in this economy, there won't be as many cntributions and there will be more need. Some people make a lot of money but it's still up to them to decide whether they should give or not.
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Ok, maybe you're making too much of what I said. I'm not knocking the players, just wondering how much of a difference things could be for "average" folk if the likes of Pedro, Ortiz, Manny, Pujols, Hanley, Cano, etc did what I proposed.

As for whether or not DR is among the top 100 most impoverished countries is a moot point. I don't think Zimbabwe (#1) has a single baseball player in any level of professional baseball. the DR on the other hand has at least 100, many of which are among the wealthiest athletes in sports history and live in lavish mansions back in the DR. Again, I'm sure they already contribute tons of money but I'm sure they are some that don't and even those that do can probably do a lot more and it wouldn't come close to changing their standard of life one iota.

I will now get off my soapbox and watch Mtv cribs while filling out my $20 worth of lottery tickets, sitting envious of people with 9 foreign cars and 15 bedroom homes and refigerators full of Roederer Cristal Rose champagne.

" In the clip, Sano wears apparel representing the Blue Jays, Cubs, and Cardinals at various times, for what it's worth. He was wearing an A's jersey when ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. and Luke Cyphers saw him."

For what it's worth, I own a hat of all 30 MLB teams, and have worn them all at times. I think a lot of kids just collect hats and stuff these days. I can't imagine a 15 year old from D.R. really is adamant about playing in any one specific place, he will probably go to where he is advised to go, along with who shells out the most cash.

"Why are teams engaging in what amounts to child exploitation?"

Seriously, what 15 year old kid would want to be paid millions of dollars to play baseball? Those poor babies! I know when I was 15 (seems like just yesterday ;-) ) I would love to be courted by 30 different teams, all of whom want to pay me millions of dollars to play baseball.

YFS78, Pedro has given tons of money back to DR. He has paid to have a school built in his old neighborhood, put up a church, I believe helped to build a hospital, paid to have the road paved into an actual road, etc. He does tons of good in his home country. Fernando Tatis also built a church in the D.R. This was actually the number one reason that he got back into the majors, to put together enough funds to build a church. For what it's worth, a lot of these guys do give lots of time, money, and effort back to where they came from. We just don't always here about it, which is because usually these guys aren't giving money back to get recognition as some sort of hero, they just do it because that is where they started their lives, and they want to help out. Pedro does a ton of giving back, though I have never heard him talk about this with the media.

I'm not trying to pick a fight. I'm just telling you something it seemed that you were unaware of, judging by the earlier comment. I agree with you, when you are blessed like these guys are, some would say that giving back to the less fortunate where you come from is not an option, but a responsibility. I'm just trying to say a lot of these guys do good things with their money, even if we aren't always aware of it.

"Anyone else think it's kind of creepy how minors are essentially sold to American baseball teams in Latin America? Why are teams engaging in what amounts to child exploitation? Meanwhile, in the U.S. children haven't been treated this way in 100 years since the advent of child labor laws"

You are very naive if you honestly believe that child labor no longer occurs in the United States. You should read up on Mexican and Latin migrant workers, where children sometimes begin to work picking fields around the age of four..

"I'm not saying he IS or WILL BE a star or that he will even be Jeter's replacement. WHat I am saying is that he's always had the glove. It was his bat that was the question. He impressed many in ST and so far his bat has been ok. And if he can play stellar defense and hold a .265/.335 line then I would be ok with that."

I totally agree that a shortstop that plays elite defense and posts an OBP around .335 is a pretty valuable hitter, there's no doubt about that.

I'm merely making a point that this guy wasn't projected as a major leaguer by ANYONE last year, and he's a guy that nobody had ever heard of, despite the fact that he was 22 and playing in AA.

Pena wasn't just some prospect that nobody had ever heard of, it was legitimately questionable whether Pena was even a prospect at all. His glove is good at short, but not so freaking super crazy good that he doesn't have to hit at all to stay on the field.

Do you honestly believe that a guy who posted a .330 OBP in his THIRD stint in AA (while posting a .327 BABIP!!!!) is even remotely capable of being any sort of major league hitter?

"PS-Just because Baseball America doesn't label a guy a Top 100 prospect doesn't mean that one day they can't or won't become a fine mlb player. "

Pena isn't just a guy that BA didn't label as a Top 100 prospect. He's hardly a prospect at all, according to most sources.

Keep in mind that he wasn't even mentioned by John Sickels in his Yankee prospect rankings, and his list went 38 (!) prospects deep.

Every team taht he has a workout with gives him a hat and some give him shirts as well.

btw... He's the best player I have ever represented from the Dominican. He has unbelievable upside. Some scouts have compared him to a young Gary Sheffield, a Pujols with more tools and I just think he is a unique talent.

Pena isn't just a guy that BA didn't label as a Top 100 prospect. He's hardly a prospect at all, according to most sources.

Keep in mind that he wasn't even mentioned by John Sickels in his Yankee prospect rankings, and his list went 38 (!) prospects deep.
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Most people who are experts in prospect ratings , seldom, if ever, rank a player high based on their defense. Defense isn't the "sexy stat" for hin. However, your an intelligent person and I'm sure you can appreciate other aspects of a players game. Pena cam into ST and drew raves by not just the Yankee FO, who might be drinking the company's red kool-aid, but by scouts from other teams. Again, just because the "scouting industry" didn't think enough of him doesn't make him any less of a prospect. Below is a scouting report for him.

http://yankees.scout.com/2/600735.html

If you can accept the fact that the "experts" miss on a prospect (see Felix Pie) then why can't you accept that in terms of being a mlb capable player (vs being a mlb star) that many players crawl in under the radar? He may never be a star but he sure might be a gold glove caliber SS who hits .260/.330.

am I a snake if it's the truth though?

If the Pirates signed him that would just be... ridiculous.

I read somewhere that sano wanted to play with albert pujols, there family's are long time friends, so where ever albert is at that time he'll probably end up.

Sign him up Mo. Let El Hombre mentor him and hopefully he will turn out well.