04/19/24
March 27, 2007
From questionable minor to legitimate Miner: Danny Almonte -- yes, that Danny Almonte -- has signed to pitch in the Frontier League with the Southern Illinois Miners. According to Mike Pinto, the team's manager, scouts report him as having a 90+ fastball and a wicked slider.
I wonder whether he had any interest from big league teams; I wish the article had gone into whether he got drafted and just bombed out of the minors or if he didn't get a sniff at all. In other Frontier League notes, former Frontier League pitcher of the year (and former St. Louis Cardinal) Jason Simontaachi appears to be in line for a spot in the Washington Nationals' rotation [insert joke here about the qualifications of your grandma for the same]. I actually once went to a Frontier League game of the Gateway Grizzlies, in beautiful Sauget, IL -- right across the river from St. Louis, and best known for its strip clubs, the presence of an EPA superfund site, and as being the subject of an Uncle Tupelo song. I would put the quality of play as maybe around high-A ball, with the exception of course being that most of the players are much older than the typical A-ball players.
posted by holden at 10:41 AM on March 27, 2007
holden, i'm pretty sure he attended a tryout (for the mets maybe?) this past fall. there was speculation that he might be drafted but he never was.
posted by goddam at 10:57 AM on March 27, 2007
Certainly he's already had a nice hard lesson in ignoring what the press says about you. I don't think he had a choice since he only spoke spanish at the time so ignoring the press was probably easy. Either way, I think we'll be seeing Danny Almonte play in the bigs soon enough. And maybe, even for my Mets. We'll take him.
posted by BornIcon at 11:46 AM on March 27, 2007
Either way, I think we'll be seeing Danny Almonte play in the bigs soon enough. And maybe, even for my Mets. We'll take him. Considering the fact that he went undrafted (and baseball has a very long draft -- future Hall of Famer Mike Piazza went to the Dodgers in the 62nd round), I think his chances of making the bigs are very, very limited. Based on this stump of an article, it appears that scouts were not particularly impressed with his velocity.
posted by holden at 11:59 AM on March 27, 2007
I agree with holden in that it is very, very difficult to make the big leagues. I've always thought Almonte had potential, but who knows. I think he'll end up in a big leauge orginization in the near future but who knows if he can make the majors.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 06:32 PM on March 27, 2007
who wouldnt look good pitching out of your age in little league? and dont tell me it doesnt make a difference, look how different it is from age 10 to 12. i heard he's actually a 36 year old carpenter from Reno, who hasn't paid union dues in 10 years. Pay up Danny, sluggo's looking for ya
posted by firestompinmed at 09:45 PM on March 27, 2007
I wish the guy well, too, but how exactly was he unfairly treated? He was too old to be playing in that age group. Don't get me wrong, I blame the adults involved so much more than him. But should it not have been pointed out that his team was cheating by having him on its roster?
posted by olelefthander at 12:00 PM on March 28, 2007
i remember him when he was a young man.
posted by papoon at 07:51 AM on April 03, 2007
Hey, sometimes talented kids become talented grownups. Certainly he's already had a nice hard lesson in ignoring what the press says about you. I wish him nothing but the best of luck at this point.