Yasmani Grandal
From BR Bullpen
Yasmani Grandal
- Bats Both, Throws Right
- Height 6' 2", Weight 210 lb.
- School University of Miami
- High School Miami Springs High School
- Born November 8, 1988 in Havana Cuba
[edit] Biographcal Information
Yasmani Grandal was a first-round pick in the 2010 amateur draft.
Grandal was born in Cuba and moved to the USA at age 10. He hit .433 as a high school sophomore at Miami Springs High School, .461 as a junior and .447 with 13 homers and 48 RBI as a senior. That year, he was named an AFLAC High School All-American. Baseball America also picked him as the All-American catcher, ahead of Devin Mesoraco (second team) and Travis D'Arnaud (3rd team). The other players picked as first-teamers, including Madison Bumgarner, Rick Porcello and Jason Heyward, all would be first-round draft picks. The Boston Red Sox chose him in the 27th round of the 2007 amateur draft; he went low due to a strong college commitment.
As a freshman at the University of Miami, Yasmani batted .234/.358/.452 for the lowest average of any Miami regular. His sophomore year, he improved to .299/.410/.599 with a team-high 16 homers in 59 contests. He was All-Atlantic Coast Conference second team at catcher behind Tony Sanchez. He played for Team USA's college edition that summer, but they did not go to any major international tournaments.
Grandal was hitting .422/.545/.754 as of June 3, leading the ACC in average, slugging and OBP while being second in walks(52) and doubles (22). He was also fielding .994 at catcher. He made the Collegiate Baseball All-American team. The Cincinnati Reds took him 12th in the 2010 amateur draft; Bryce Harper was the only catcher to go higher, but was immediately converted to an outfielder.
In his pro debut, Grandal was 8 for 28 with a double and four walks for the AZL Reds. In 2011, he played with three different teams, hitting .305 in 105 games. He started with the Bakersfield Blaze for 56 games in the California League where he hit .296 with 10 homers. He then moved to the AA Carolina Mudcats for 45 games, then ended the season in AAA with 4 games with the Louisville Bats. However, he was behind Devin Mesoraco, another first-rounder who had made his major league debut that season, on the Reds' depth chart, making him a possible trading chip. On December 17th, he was sent to the San Diego Padres along with Yonder Alonso, Brad Boxberger and Edinson Volquez in return for pitcher Mat Latos.
Source: Miami bio
