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| Sandoval to Mets! |
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2/10/2010
Mets Sign SS Rylan Sandoval Out of Arizona Winter League
San Luis Atleticos SS Will Leave for Spring Training on Monday
(Yuma, AZ. February 10, 2010) The Arizona Winter League (AWL) announced today that shortstop Rylan Sandoval of the San Luis Atleticos has been signed by the New York Mets and will be departing for spring training in Port St. Lucie next week. Sandoval had been one of the leading hitters and a top defensive shortstop in the AWL which is 8 games into it's fourth winter season. He is the 11th AWL player to be signed by a major league organization in the last three years, two of those - Scott Richmond and Sergio Romo of the 2007 AWL are already in the big leagues.
"I'm not surprised at all as Rylan is a tremendous player both in the field and at the plate," said San Luis Manager Eddie Dennis. "He should go a long way in the New York organization and it is good that the Mets moved fast as we had three other MLB teams calling about him and planning on sending scouts."
Sandoval, 22, was a two-year junior college All-American and was the California Junior College Player of the Year at Chabot College in his freshman year. Drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 38th round in 2006 and by the New York Mets in the 30th round in 2007 he elected to accept a scholarship to Long Beach State where he played the last two seasons before graduating this past June. Overlooked due to sharing playing time at Long Beach State he went undrafted his senior year and decided on the Arizona Winter League to showcase his skills and pursue a professional contract. In the AWL he was hitting .368 and leading his team in runs scored.
Besides the Mets, the Tigers, Dodgers, Phillies, Padres, Indians, Royals, Red Sox, and Diamondbacks have already had scouts at the 2010 AWL.
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About the Arizona Winter League: The AWL is the premier instructional short-season showcase league in the U.S. for professional and aspiring professional players to develop and demonstrate their skills in the winter. Headquartered at the Ray Kroc Spring Training Complex in Yuma, Arizona the seasons have included a number of markets in the southwest including San Luis, Arizona; Blythe, California; El Centro, California, and Palm Springs, California. While many AWL players are already under professional contract, the league has become the most successful avenue for free agents to acquire pro contracts as over 120 players were signed by major league, independent, and professional foreign leagues out of the AWL in the last three seasons. Managed and instructed by accomplished major leaguers such as Garry Templeton, Mike Marshall, Cory Snyder, Wally Backman, Les Lancaster, Ozzie Virgil, Greg Cadaret, Darrell Evans, Brent Bowers, Boots Day, Tim Johnson, Jeffrey Leonard, Rusty Meacham, and many others the players receive 35 days of first class instruction that enables them to improve at whatever level they play. Major League organizations that have signed AWL players include the Kansas City Royals, the San Francisco Giants, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Baltimore Orioles, the San Diego Padres, the Boston Red Sox, the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Mets, and the Milwaukee Brewers.
More info on the Arizona Winter League can be found at www.arizonawinterleague.com
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