2006 Scout of the Year Alex Agostino

* Alex Agostino is an important man in the province of Quebec as well as the Philadelphia Phillies scouting department. ....  

By Bob Elliott

Alex Agostino, is the Canadian Baseball Network’s 13th annual scout of the year

He didn’t sign them all, but in a short span, he had four drafted players make the majors in four years.

Working for the Montreal Expos, he chose catcher Pete LaForest in the 16th round in 1995. But club doctors voided LaForest’s contract because of a back injury. He signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1997 and in 2002 was in the majors.

Agostino also selected lefty Eric Cyr in the 35th round of the 1996 draft. The Expos didn’t sign Cyr, who attended Seminole State College. In 1998, he was drafted by San Diego in the 30th and in 2002 Cyr pitched for the Padres.

Agostino selected and signed Georgetown righty Shawn Hill in the sixth round of the 2000 draft. And in 2004, Hill recorded his first major-league win with the Expos over the Blue Jays.

Now, after surgery, Hill is back with the Washington Nationals, going 0-1 with a 2.77 ERA in two starts going into today’s start.

Also, in 2000, Agostino drafted infielder Russell Martin in the 35th round. The Expos didn’t sign Martin, he attended Chipola College, was chosen in the 17th round in 2002 by the Dodgers, was converted to a catcher and is L.A.’s No. 1 man.

This week, Agostino, who now works for the Philadelphia Phillies, selected Montreal lefty Olivier Routhier-Pare.

He had three Phillies cross-checkers at bureau camps evaluating Canadian talent. and also is the head man of Baseball Quebec.

Previous scout of the year winners were Bill Scherrer of Buffalo, (Marlins); Bill McKenzie of Ottawa (Rockies); Tim Harkness of Oshawa (Padres); Cambridge’s Ed Heather (Jays); Wayne Norton of Port Moody, BC (Orioles), Walt Jefferies of Paris, Ont. (Blue Jays); Claude Pelletier (Mets) of Ste-Lezare, Que., the late Jim Kane (Braves) of Brampton, Ken Lenihan of Beford, N.S. (Major League Baseball Bureau), Dick Groch of Mount Pleasant, Mich. (Yankees), Burlington's Jim Ridley (Twins) and Walt Burrows (Brentwood Bay, BC) MLB Scouting Bureau.