The Cincinnati Reds signed Aristides Aquino in January 18th, 2011 out of the Dominican Republic as a a 16-year-old. He wasn’t a high profile signing, though the Reds were impressed with his tools and signed him for $115,000.
He spent the first two seasons of his career, at ages 17 and 18, playing in the Dominican Summer League and the results weren’t good. He hit .188 and .197 in those first two seasons. Despite the struggles, the Reds showed faith in the tools and brought him stateside as a 19-year-old.
The faith paid off as Aquino responded well, hitting .