Marten Gasparini

Marten Gasparini
Kansas City Royals
Shortstop
Born: (1997-05-24) May 24, 1997
Ruda, Italy
Bats: Switch Throws: Right

Marten Gasparini (born May 24, 1997) is an Italian professional baseball shortstop for the Kansas City Royals' organization. Gasparini received a $1.3 million signing bonus from the Royals, a record bonus for a European player.

Early life

Gasparini was raised in the town of Alture, the son of an Italian father and a British Jamaican mother. His mother ran track and field.[1] He became interested in baseball, and also participated in soccer and martial arts.[2]

While competing in Little League Baseball at the age of 11, scouts began to take notice of Gasparini. He then attended the Italian Baseball Academy in Tirrenia beginning in 2011.[3][4][5] In 2012, Gasparini competed for the Italian national baseball team in the 15-and-under and 18-and-under Baseball World Championships.[4]

Career

At the age of 16, Gasparini signed with the Royals as an international free agent for a signing bonus of US$1.3 million in 2013,[1] the largest bonus given to a European player.[6] That fall, he participated in the Arizona Instructional League.[4] Gasparini made his professional debut in 2014 with the Burlington Royals of the rookie-level Appalachian League.[7] He had a .191 batting average in 19 games played for Burlington, and also played four games for the Idaho Falls Chukars of the rookie-level Pioneer League.[3]

Gasparini spent the 2015 season with Idaho Falls, where he had a .259 batting average and 26 stolen bases.[3][6][5] He opened the 2016 season with the Lexington Legends of the Class A South Atlantic League.[8]

Personal life

Gasparini has a sister, who is studying in the United States.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 "Royals sign Italian shortstop Marten Gasparini for $1.3 million". MLB.com. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Marten Gasparini, 15, Might Be Europe’s Best Prospect Ever". Baseball America. May 20, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Kansas City Royals shortstop prospect Marten Gasparini on track for breakout season – MiLB.com News – The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Marten Gasparini, promessa italiana del baseball americano". Il Post (in Italian). Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Gasparini adjusts to life away from Italy". Post-Register. July 11, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Shortstop Marten Gasparini’s unlikely journey from Italy to Royals’ minor leagues". Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  7. ↑ Sutton, Bob (June 13, 2014). "Italian prospect ticketed for Burlington team". The Times-News. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Lexington’s Miller, Danville’s Bodner on Legends’ opening day roster". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Baseball – Marten Gasparini firma con i Kansas City Royals". Yahoo Sport. July 4, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, May 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.