The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Miami Marlins are excited about the addition of Ian Lewis and the prospect of recruiting more Bahamian talent, while Lewis is intent on setting an example for local players looking to follow in his path.

“It [Bahamian baseball] is slowly growing. This year is going to be a big year for us. We have a lot of guys coming out of the Bahamas. We have guys in the minor-league system doing well. We plan to see a lot of Bahamian baseball,” Lewis said during his official introduction at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida.

“I would love to set an example that Bahamian baseball is going to be a good thing now. Jazz [Chisholm], Lucius Fox, Kristian Robinson, they set the example for me. I want to set the example for the younger guys.”

Lewis and fellow 16-year-old shortstop Jose Salas of Venezuela toured the team’s facility and had an opportunity to take part in batting practice and infield drills alongside the club’s major league team. Marlins international scouting director Fernando Seguignol told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the organisation projects both athletes to perform at a high level in the near future.

“These are athletic kids. You can’t miss on athleticism, that’s what we’re looking for,” he said. “You can see two different types of bodies and when you look at projection and look four-five years down the road, these kids that are going to build out. That’s where our job as an international scout comes in hand, where we project these kids being at that point maybe 210 pounds and hitting balls out of the park. We see the action is there, just putting that together. It’s just going to create a lot of value and they become a championship-calibre player for us.”

Adrian Lorenzo, Marlins’ special assistant of Baseball Operations, expressed his excitement at Lewis’ potential and the growth of baseball in the Bahamas.

“I think we are acquiring a franchise player. A player the city of Miami and the entire Bahamas can be proud of. You can tell early on, the gracefulness in his actions, the way he moved, the athleticism, the way he hit. It’s been such a pleasure to follow him through this process and to see him grow and develop to the young man he’s become, it’s pretty special,” he said at Lewis’ signing.

“This baseball market is a particular passion project of mine to make sure the players from this country continue to develop. I want to point that out so people can appreciate what’s been going on here, to develop this baseball market in such a short amount of time is quite a testament to what is going on in the Bahamas.”