Scanning the DSL thread, I see that there is some mention of Michael Almanzar possibly being on the DSL roster. I'd been meaning to pose this before, but
the roster gave me the reminder.
Is Almanzar the most curious use of money we've seen, this side of Mike Rozier? He received the highest Latin bonus ever, even though he received none of the usual BA pre-July2 hype, like Beltre or Tejeda did (OK, perhaps not the most relevant measure, right Jose Jose?) Then, when he signs, and we get the perplexing stories in the Herald about a 6'5 shortstop who has barely played organized baseball, and wanders off base in the middle of innings to get something from the dugout. (A puzzling observation, given that his dad was a major leaguer, and we stashed him in Florida while dad was "rehabbing"). Then spring training reports tell us he has a screwed up swing, with a open stance/trigger foot, and barely makes a lot of contact. The bright side is he's only 6'3 and could stay in the infield.
Of course the counter to this is he has projectable power.
I understand the interest in raw skills. But could there really have been such a big market for this kid? And if so, are we looking at a Jason Place type projection, with years of 100+ ks while we hope he clicks?
Is Almanzar the most curious use of money we've seen, this side of Mike Rozier? He received the highest Latin bonus ever, even though he received none of the usual BA pre-July2 hype, like Beltre or Tejeda did (OK, perhaps not the most relevant measure, right Jose Jose?) Then, when he signs, and we get the perplexing stories in the Herald about a 6'5 shortstop who has barely played organized baseball, and wanders off base in the middle of innings to get something from the dugout. (A puzzling observation, given that his dad was a major leaguer, and we stashed him in Florida while dad was "rehabbing"). Then spring training reports tell us he has a screwed up swing, with a open stance/trigger foot, and barely makes a lot of contact. The bright side is he's only 6'3 and could stay in the infield.
Of course the counter to this is he has projectable power.
I understand the interest in raw skills. But could there really have been such a big market for this kid? And if so, are we looking at a Jason Place type projection, with years of 100+ ks while we hope he clicks?
