KANSAS CITY -- The grammatical intricacies of the English language can be especially challenging to absorb, particularly when going through the growing pains of Minor League baseball at the same time.
Yet, A's prospect Renato Nunez has done well in managing both. The power-hitting third baseman, who made his first big league start as the designated hitter against the Royals on Tuesday night, is nearly fluent in the language, six years after latching on with the organization as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela at age 16.
Nunez, ranked as the club's No. 5 prospect by MLBPipeline.