[WhawhaWhat]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Ronald Acuna Jr leads the AL in WAR. And fun fact, Maikel Garcia is his cousin.

So is Alcides Escobar and Acuna was at Royals spring training when he was 16.

Yet on a spring day four years ago, the best prospect in baseball was working out at the Royals’ facility in Surprise, Ariz. His name was Ronald Acuña, and he had come as a guest of shortstop Alcides Escobar, his older cousin. He wished to hit before a group of club officials.

Acuña was not the best prospect in baseball at this point, of course. He was 16 years old. He stood a pencil-thin 5-foot-10. He was maybe 150 pounds. But for one day at spring training, he ran, hit and threw in front of Francisco, the Royals’ assistant general manager for international operations. Escobar lobbied Francisco to sign his cousin.

In the weeks after the workout, Acuña remained interested in the Royals. His father, Ron Sr., had watched Escobar, his first cousin, grow up in La Sabana, a coastal town in Venezuela. Their mothers were sisters. For a time, Escobar said, the families lived together.

On the morning of July 2, 2014, the first day of the international signing period, Acuña woke up ready to sign a professional contract. In an interview with Baseball America last summer, he said he initially expected to sign with Kansas City.

“I was going to sign with the Royals,” Acuña said, according to the publication. “But that same day, the Braves called and offered me more money. So I decided to sign with the Braves.”

The signing bonus was reported to be $100,000; the total was less than what nearly 200 international players signed for that year, according to Baseball America. The best international prospects routinely sign for seven-figure bonuses or more.

The Royals did submit an offer, but like most teams in baseball, Acuña was not a priority. Maybe he would develop, Francisco thought. But his lack of power would likely push him to the infield. In the end, they ended up being outbid.

https://theathletic.com/329952/2018/...cides-escobar/