JUPITER, Fla. (AP) -Top Florida Marlins prospect Cameron Maybin was with the Single-A Asheville Tourists when he began to catch the eye of major league talent hunters.
At the time, he was a 12-year-old batboy.
Mike Hill was farm director for the Colorado Rockies, the Tourists’ parent club. He remembers young Maybin shagging flies and taking batting practice with the team when he wasn’t fetching bats.
“Even back then, you saw the makings of a pretty special player,” Hill said. “Cameron was a big kid, probably 6-foot or 6-1. You watched him run around the field and said, ‘That’s a guy I’m putting on my list for a few years down the line.”’
Talk about good scouting. Nine years later, Hill is the Marlins’ vice president-general manager, and Maybin is creating a buzz in their spring training camp.
Maybin was acquired in December in the blockbuster trade that sent Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to the Detroit Tigers. Hill said the deal probably would have fallen through had the Tigers refused to part with Maybin.
Unless he has a bad spring, he’ll likely be the starting center fielder on opening day, a few days before he turns 21.
“We’re in no rush,” Hill said. “If he’s not ready, we’ll wait until he is ready. He’ll dictate to us.
“We do know he’s extremely talented. He’s a five-tool player. And on top of that, he’s just a great kid.”
Maybin wears braces and notes this is only his third professional season, but he’s optimistic he’s ready for the majors. He hit .309 in the Tigers’ minor-league system with 23 home runs and 52 stolen bases in 192 games.
He climbed to Double-A before joining the Tigers last August. His first two major-league hits – a single and a homer – came off Roger Clemens at Yankee Stadium, but Maybin batted only .143 with 21 strikeouts in 49 at-bats for Detroit.
He was undaunted by his struggles there.
“I feel like I’m definitely ready to take on the big-league challenge and big-league grind and playing every day at the big-league level,” Maybin said. “I’m confident in my ability.”
The trade is part of a pattern for the Marlins, who deemed Cabrera and Willis too expensive to keep and blame their perpetual payroll purges on poor attendance. An agreement reached last week to build a new ballpark near downtown Miami could end the cycle, spurring a boost in revenue that would allow the team to keep players like Maybin after they blossom into stars.
“Fans hopefully will support the new stadium, and we’ll keep some guys around,” Maybin said. “I definitely wouldn’t mind being here for a while. Let’s see what happens.”
Miami’s last sporting experience with a Cameron – Dolphins coach Cam – proved a disaster. The Marlins are optimistic their Cam will fare better.
In the ninth inning of a game Tuesday, Maybin trotted to his position flanked by teammates wearing Nos. 65, 78, 81 and 83, meaning they’ll likely start the season in the minors. Maybin wore No. 24, meaning the Marlins consider him worthy of Cabrera’s old number.
Offensive punch from Maybin would help compensate for the loss of Cabrera, and it won’t take much for an upgrade in center field. Last year the Marlins ranked near the bottom among major-league teams in run production from their center fielders, who totaled only nine home runs and 53 RBIs.
Hanley Ramirez, now Florida’s top hitter, likes the look of his new teammate.
“My little brother,” Ramirez said with a smile. “He’s got pop. He’s strong.”
And fast. A lanky 6-foot-4, Maybin is all arms and legs sprinting around the bases.
“He doesn’t run. He glides,” teammate Luis Gonzalez said. “He’s impressive to watch.”
The 40-year-old Gonzalez said he’s willing to serve as a mentor this season, but he’s not sure Maybin needs much help.
“What do you tell a kid like that?” Gonzalez said. “Everything looks so natural.”
An Asheville native, Maybin hit .662 as a high school senior, then was taken by the Tigers with the 10th overall pick in the 2005 draft. He was surprised when Detroit traded him, but he quickly embraced his new surroundings with the young Marlins.
Their lineup on opening day could consist entirely of twentysomethings.
“It’s a vibrant clubhouse, and it’s fun to be around these guys,” Maybin said. “You have a lot more guys you have things in common with, just because of their age.”
Maybin is still the clubhouse youngster, though – just like in Asheville. He spent three years as a Tourists batboy and considers the experience an education.
“It helped watching some of the guys who went about their business the right way, and some of the guys who didn’t,” Maybin said. “I knew what I had to do once I got into pro ball.”
Starting this week, what he has to do is hit.
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