Antonio Vasquez (Baseball Player)
Antonio Vasquez (born September 24, 1993) is a Mexican professional baseball outfielder in the San Francisco Giants organization, and is their #1 overall prospect. He is considered by most baseball analysts to be the best and most promising prospect in all of Major League Baseball.
Mexican Career
At the age of 16, Antonio Vasquez was recruited by the Guadalajara Rancheros of the Mexican Class A baseball league. In his rookie season in 2011, Vasquez posted a .403 batting average and hit 64 homeruns leading the Rancheros to a class A championship game where they lost to their rivals, the Mexico City Diablo’s, to a score of 7 to 9. He went 5 for 5 with a homerun and 6 RBI’s in the loss. His season performance gained him national recognition which led to him being asked to join the Mexican baseball team in the following years World Baseball Classic. The 2012 World Baseball Classic took place in New York City at Yankee Stadium. He contributed heavily to the perfect record for team Mexico in the tournament, which got them to the championship game where they defeated the United States team by a lopsided score of 9 to 3 where he went 4 for 5 with 2 homeruns and 7 RBI’s. He is famously remembered for hitting his two homeruns off of Major League Baseball’s all-star pitchers Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw. He was awarded the World Baseball Classic Most Valuable Player award and set new tournament records with a record high batting average of .568, 24 runs batted in and 9 homeruns. His tournament performance gained him the attention of Major League Baseball scouts from all over the United States.
American Career
Following his 2012 season, he was admitted to free agency in Major League Baseball. Vasquez was quickly signed by the San Francisco Giants to a seven-year deal worth 47 million dollars. He was said to have been given offers from several other teams including the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and Boston Red Sox. In January 2013, the Giants placed Vasquez on their Arizona Rookie League team. In two months, he hit .528 with 11 homeruns and 26 RBI’s. In March, he joined the Giants at spring training where he led the Cactus league in batting average and home runs. After spring training the Giants organization chose to put Vasquez on their minor league team in Fresno to work on his fielding mechanics. He currently has a batting average of .357 and is expected to be promoted to the San Francisco Giant’s baseball team by the start of the 2014 season. He is ranked the #1 prospect overall by Prospect Watch and Baseball America.
Gregory Vasquez
Comm. 100w
Fall 2013
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