New movie features top Twins prospect - KMSP-TV

He's one of the Top 20 prospects in all of baseball. He's the number one prospect in the Twins organization. He's only 18-years-old.

Miguel Sano is the next big thing to come out of the Dominican Republic. He received a $3.1 million signing bonus from the Twins and the hopes are that he'll be with the big club in 2014. His story is so unique, a movie is being made about his journey on the dirt fields of the Dominican to life as a top prospect in the minors.

The movie is called "Ballplayer: Pelotero." The documentary focuses on two young baseball players, or peloteros as they are called in the Dominican Republic, as they strive to get signed by a professional club on their 16th birthday, the age they become eligible. One of the key subjects is Sano and it pulls back the curtain behind his recruitment and the days leading into his eventual signing with the Twins.

"Every summer we tune in to see teams stocked with Dominican players, but no one has ever told the story of how they made it there, or their compatriots who didn't," says Jon Paley, director of the film. The filmmakers are currently working on a follow-up project that will continue to track the two ballplayers featured in PELOTERO - Miguel Angel Sano and Jean Carlos Batista - as they rise through the minor leagues.

So far this season, Sano is off to a monster season. Through 12 games and just 49 plate appearances, with the Single-A Beloit Snappers, he already has 5 home runs and 14 RBI. That is despite being the 6th youngest player in the Midwest League.

The film, which is narrated by actor John Leguizamo and executive produced by Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine, is set for a July 13th release in theaters and video-on-demand.

To learn more about the movie, you can go to http://www.peloterothemovie.com