SAN PEDRO de MACORIS, Dominican Republic _ There's your kid right there, the man says.
PENA and OVIEDO and BAUTISTA start jogging out to stretch. It is Monday, on a windy morning at the Detroit Tigers' Dominican Republic academy, and Roberto Campos is walking through the batting cage.
Campos, a 16-year-old, is the best Tigers prospect you don't know about. He grew up in Cuba, moved to the D.R. nearly four years ago and signed with the Tigers in July for a $2.85 million signing bonus _ the team's highest for an international amateur player.
Campos already looks like a big-leaguer. Strong handshake. Makes you forget for a second that he knows little English when he replies, "Nice to meet you," after an introduction for the first interview of his baseball career.
The next second, Campos jogs by with the rest of his teammates, younger and richer than the rest. He bought a place for his parents with the money. They say he's been a captain on every team. He lines up first in his group for calisthenics.
He has grown a good three inches and put on probably 25 pounds since the man, Oliver Arias, stumbled upon him in 2016. He has switched positions, from third base to outfield, signed a life-changing contract and started a professional career. But he's basically a sophomore in high school.
This week, with Arias translating, we meet a kid still too young to be considered a prospect but far too promising to be hidden in another country.
