The Cleveland Indians found Jose Ramirez playing on a field that looked much like this in the Dominican Republic, according to Tribe Senior Director of Scouting John Mirabelli.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- John Mirabelli sent me a photo of a baseball field in the Dominican Republic.

The grass is haunted with weeds. The dirt is sandy with rocks. There is a donkey grazing near second base.

"This is not the exact field where we found Jose (Ramirez), but it looks just like it," said Mirabelli, the Indians senior director of scouting operations.

Mirabelli said he couldn't remember if any donkeys were around when the Indians scouted Ramirez in 2009, but they do sometimes show up on the baseball fields in poorer areas.

"Jose was not close to being a top prospect," said Mirabelli. "I don't think he had any other offers except the one from us. I think Jose has surprised everybody."

Ramirez is the biggest shock of this stunning Tribe season. He entered Tuesday's game in Oakland batting .308 (.818 OPS) with 10 HR and 57 RBI.

Ramirez has started 54 games at third base, 47 in left field and three each at shortstop and second base. Despite all that moving around, he has made only seven errors.

Ramirez does so many things well. He has 20 stolen bases. He is a switch-hitter -- batting .303 vs. righties, .319 vs. lefties. Most of all, he's superb in the clutch -- batting .381 with runners in scoring position.

"He is an amazing story," said Mirabelli.

NOBODY'S PROSPECT

Mirabelli takes no credit for finding Ramirez.

"It was our scout, Ramon Pena," he said. "All of the scouts (in the Dominican) saw Jose, but no one else liked him. That was true for me, too."

There are events called the "Prospect League Games" in that country. It's a place to scout the elite players.

"Jose was not one of those guys," said Mirabelli. "He was a fill-in when someone else couldn't play and they needed another guy. I was watching this game with Ramon Pena, and Jose was playing second base."

Mirabelli said that was a concern.

"The best Dominican players are at shortstop," he said. "The Dominican is known for their great shortstops. Jose was a small, stocky kid at second base. He didn't look like a ballplayer. He wasn't fluid. He didn't have a great arm. He didn't look that fast."

He was just another guy playing on a lesser field.

"But he got three hits that day," said Mirabelli.

Ramirez was not in any of the big all-star games for prospects. Nor did he have a buscon, men who serve as trainers and maybe a form of street agent for kids wanting to sign major league contracts. Some are very good-hearted men and former big leaguers, such as Cesar Geronimo Jr. Yes, he is the son of Cesar Geronimo, who played 15 years in the majors.

Geronimo Jr. brought Danny Salazar to a Tribe tryout camp and that led to them signing the 16-year-old to a $200,000 bonus.

There was no one pushing Ramirez.

"If Jose did have a buscon, we never met him," said Mirabelli. "They will start training kids as young as 8 or 10 to play baseball. Jose seemed to be on his own."

GETTING ATTENTION

After getting three hits the first day, Ramirez was on the field the next. Once again, he was filling in for a "real" prospect.

"He got three more hits," said Mirabelli. "They were singles, but he hit the ball hard. He was a switch hitter with a very natural swing from both sides of the plate."

But he just didn't look like a player.

"And he was older," said Mirabelli.

Ramirez was 17. Most Dominican players are signed by the time they are 16.

Pena kept telling Mirabelli that he liked Ramirez. The next day, there were two more games. Ramirez had a total of five hits.

"We should sign this kid," said Pena. Mirabelli started to think he was right.

THE DOMINICAN SYSTEM

Major league teams have baseball academies in the Dominican Republic. They often hold tryouts, where players are timed in the 60-yard dash. Their arms are tested. There are radar guns to check velocity. There is some batting practice and fielding practice.

"Jose would not stand out in that setting," said Mirabelli. "He was not a natural athlete in terms of size."

Ramirez was listed at 5-foot-9, 165 pounds in 2010.

The largest bonus given to a Dominican player by the Tribe was $1 million to Dorssys Paulino in 2012. He is listed at 6 feet and 175 pounds at 16. He is batting .268 (.735 OPS) with 4 HR and 21 RBI in 43 games at Class A Lynchburg. Signed as a shortstop, he has been converted to the outfield.

Paulino is in his fifth pro season, but he's only 21.

Because the MLB player draft does not apply to the Dominican Republic, players sign younger and the bidding can go high for a talented 16 year old.

While Mirabelli and Pena talked about other prospects, they kept coming back to Ramirez.

"Go ahead, sign him," said Mirabelli.

The Indians offered a $50,000 bonus. That's a lot of money to most Dominican families, but a small bonus for a ballplayer -- even in 2009 when Ramirez was signed.

The average bonus back then was in the $200,000 range.

HITTING HIS WAY UP

"From the moment Jose signed with us, he hit," said Mirabelli. "A lot young players have trouble with breaking balls, especially sliders. Not Jose."

In 2011, Ramirez batted .325 for the Tribe's Arizona League rookie team. In 2012, he batted .354 at Class A Lake County.

"He also knew how to play," said Mirabelli. "He can steal a base. He can bunt. He did a very good job with the glove at second base. He may not have been a big-time athlete, but he's a baseball player."

Ramirez reached the majors late in the 2013 season at 21. He split the 2014 and 2015 seasons between Class AAA Columbus and Cleveland, struggling a bit at the plate. It all came together this spring, when he belted the ball all over Arizona. It continued this season.

The guy who was considered too small, too slow and even too old to sign a big-league contract has become a big-time player for the Tribe.

And he won't be 24 until Sept. 17.

"He is very determined," said Mirabelli. "He never listened to those who said he couldn't play. What he's done so far in his career -- considering where he came from -- is just amazing."