SAN ANTONIO GUERRA, Dominican Republic -- In 2004, Dodgers scouts Camilo Pascual and Rolando Chirino locked in on a slender catcher with a power arm playing in the Pan-Am 18-and-under games.
Pascual, a five-time All-Star in his pitching prime with the Senators and Twins, wasn't sure about the catcher's bat, but the arm and athleticism were Major League legit. Pascual signed him.
And so began the unlikely professional career of Kenley Jansen, whose then-sizable bonus of $80,000 to leave his native Curacao as a catcher was parlayed into an $80 million windfall reward this offseason for being the best reliever in the National League and the franchise saves leader with 189.