FanPost

Former Astros Scout Opening Brazilian Talent Pipeline?

You know how people talk about how the Astros used to be a pioneer in finding baseball talent in Venezuela?  Well the guy who opened up that market to us was Andrés Reiner, a former Astros scout. This book gives a pretty good account of how he did it, and at the same time, does a good job of showing what baseball scouts do.

When Hunsicker "left town", Reiner followed him to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Now, it looks like Reiner is trying to work his old magic once more, this time by finding diamonds in the rough in Brazil! They're setting up an academy for about $6.5 million (less than the cost of this year's number one draft pick, I'll bet) and looking for good athletes who couldn't attach themselves to a soccer club.

I am secretly jealous of Tampa Bay fans, and I long for the days when the Astros had a monopoly on a young talent pipeline.