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February 14, 2007
Jose Pirela
The next Yankees SS after Jeter? Granted, he's got a long way to go....
From Baseball America:
....the Yankees--who were extremely busy as usual on the international front [in 2006]--nabbed Venezuelan shortstop Jose Pirela.
While power-hitting catcher Jesus Montero grabbed headlines with his $2 million bonus--later adjusted down to $1.6 million--one international scouting director with an American League organization said Pirela was the best value and had the biggest upside of the Yankees' international haul.
"Plus runner with good hands, range," the scout said, ticking off Pirela's tools. "Nice, compact stroke . . . wiry, projectable body. The tools are all there."
Another international scouting director clocked Pirela at an above-average 4.1 seconds from the right side, adding that he showed outstanding natural instincts on the bases. The Yankees reportedly tried him out in center field after signing him, though their plan is to keep him at shortstop for now.
"His instincts for the game are such that center field could be an option down the road," one Yankees official said. "But he's got all the raw tools to stay in the middle of the diamond. The range is exceptional, the hands are soft, the arm strength is slightly above average."
The righthanded hitter has yet to make his debut in the States, and did not play for either Yankees club in the Dominican Summer League last season. Pirela is likely to start his pro career this summer in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League.
International scouts and scouting directors who'd seen the bulk of players either prior to their signing or in instructional ball in Latin America this offseason liked Pirela.....
Posted by Steve Lombardi at February 14, 2007 02:08 PM
Comments
Excellent!
You know, for all the talk of expanding into Asia & Africa, MLB has barely scratched the surface WRT mining talent in Latin America.
Posted by: Raf ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.waswatching.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 14, 2007 02:59 PM
~~~MLB has barely scratched the surface WRT mining talent in Latin America.~~~
You're kidding, right? Probably 30 percent of players in the US minor leagues hail from the Dominican Republic alone. Probably 1/3 of all current big leaguers are Latin American.
Posted by: Steve Lombardi at February 14, 2007 03:09 PM
Steve is right. Major-league ballclubs have been mining Latin America for years -- most have baseball clinics there. It's almost a given that most teams will have a handful of Latin players on their roster, and probably in a few years their percentage in the league might push close to or over into the majority.
As for this particular kid: to keep from getting my heart broken repeatedly, I never think of a kid playing in the big leagues until he shows something in AA. There are so many promising young kids who come with scouting reports comparing them to Jeter and Clemens that you get burned more times than not. You can believe in their potential, and champion them, but you're fooling yourself if you think they're locks until they reach AA.
I feel like that even with jaw-droppingly promising kids like Jose Tabata (upside: Manny) and Dellin Batances (upside: Randy Johnson in his prime).
Posted by: baileywalk at February 14, 2007 03:19 PM
Even Double-A can be fooling. Didn't Ruben Rivera star at Double-A?
Posted by: Steve Lombardi at February 14, 2007 03:42 PM
Hey, people flame out at every level. You never TRULY know who's going to do what. Andy Phillips was a AAA superstar. But he'll never do that in the bigs.
The big jump is from A-ball to AA -- that's when the competition really evens out. If someone does well in AA, it doesn't guarantee anything (neither does AAA), but it starts to make their promise a bit more "real." They're facing better competition and inching closer to the big leagues.
I get excited about guys at all levels, but until they reach the AA level I don't totally commit myself to them -- to do so is to ask for a lot of heartache.
Posted by: baileywalk at February 14, 2007 04:41 PM
You're kidding, right? Probably 30 percent of players in the US minor leagues hail from the Dominican Republic alone. Probably 1/3 of all current big leaguers are Latin American.
==================
No, I am not kidding. The DR is but a small part of Latin America.
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominican Republic*
Ecuador
El Salvador
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras*
Mexico*
Nicaragua*
Panama*
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela*
Posted by: Raf at February 14, 2007 07:28 PM
Forgot to "asterisk" 'Colombia'; they had ML players too
Posted by: Raf at February 15, 2007 10:58 AM