Sunday, April 25, 2004
Pirates Mining Latin America for Young Talent
Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review discusses the Pirates' re-emphasis on Latin American player development. The Pirates, who were among the earliest to realize the potential of Caribbean players, have doubled their Latin American scouting staff and maintain baseball academies in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
Club management makes clear that the Pirates aren't looking to skim the cream of the Latin American crop by paying high bonuses to the best prospects. Instead they're signing dozens of promising but unproven players for bonuses ranging from $5,000 to $100,000, assigning them to the developmental academies and hoping that at least 10 players a year will graduate from the academies to the regular minor league system.
The 65 players in Pittsburgh's two baseball academies receive the same $800/month salary as the lowest U.S. minor leaguers. They can be signed at age 16, and must be released if not placed on a minor league roster within three years. During their extended, paid audition, the players live year-round at the academies, leaving only for the winter holidays.
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Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review discusses the Pirates' re-emphasis on Latin American player development. The Pirates, who were among the earliest to realize the potential of Caribbean players, have doubled their Latin American scouting staff and maintain baseball academies in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
Club management makes clear that the Pirates aren't looking to skim the cream of the Latin American crop by paying high bonuses to the best prospects. Instead they're signing dozens of promising but unproven players for bonuses ranging from $5,000 to $100,000, assigning them to the developmental academies and hoping that at least 10 players a year will graduate from the academies to the regular minor league system.
The 65 players in Pittsburgh's two baseball academies receive the same $800/month salary as the lowest U.S. minor leaguers. They can be signed at age 16, and must be released if not placed on a minor league roster within three years. During their extended, paid audition, the players live year-round at the academies, leaving only for the winter holidays.
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