Red Sox Select Marcelo Mayer, SS, Eastlake HS (CA)

Simply ecstatic that the Sox got the one guy nobody really discussed getting because he was the consensus #1-3 pick. WOW, awesome fall. I, like many, will be watching your every move for the forseeable future, good luck. Now I guess the conversation changes to just how good can he be, how long will take it to get there and is he on pace to be a great, should be a lot of fun to prognosticate, follow it and read all about it here.

What a floor of 20+ war, yes I am aware that historically and statistically that isn't reasonable but hey it is what we would all expect from the highest pick in 50 years right. I think our expectations can be unreasonable at a time like this, why not the sky is the limit, have fut with it right. I mean really the Sox just got the best player in the draft right? Yup I am pretty excited.

In regards to money I am probably being naive but I say hey dude you went 4th you get 4th slot money or really close to it. Is he really going to pass up a 7 million dollar pay day to what go to college for a few years and leave those earning years on the table? I doubt it and I hope he agrees also so he can get going this year.

Yes I know those two paragraphs are diametrically opposed.

Now who do we get next at 40? Lets have a historically great draft, one to talk about for years?

I was covering proximity to majors in the being overthought part of it.

I use a simple question when rankings guys. Who would you rather have in the system? Obviously, all the analysis goes into it, like the question you mentioned, but if Mayer’s skill set is what’s being discussed then it’s an easy answer. You want the guy with legitimate franchise player upside at short stop vs the power gutting first baseman in AA who projects as an average regular who’s not hitting for power.

theathletic.com/2701354/2021/07/11/red-sox-ecstatic-after-projected-top-pick-marcelo-mayer-falls-to-them/?source=rss&redirected=1

(Behind paywall, w/ Chris' Tweet making it into the article)


“Obviously, what we think we’re going to pay Marcelo will impact some of what we do going forward,” Toboni said. “But the goal remains the same, just to build as much value as we can and bring as much value as we can into the system.”





The Red Sox believe they’ve done that with their top pick, a high-upside talent who immediately will rank among the top three-or-so prospects in their system. There’s a case for ranking him No. 1. Asked to give big-league comps to the kind of player Mayer could become, Toboni mentioned Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager and the Giants’ Brandon Crawford.

This could also be a part of the roster crunch issue that BA recently talked about. Given that there are fewer minor league teams combined with clubs still evaluating draftees and international signings the last couple of years who have limited playing time due to the pandemic, why push some 2021 picks into about a month of playing at the expense of possibly releasing some other recently signed players?

Maybe because we were picking in the top 5, but it's very rare that this board is unanimously happy. Very excited to begin following young Marcelo's development.

A couple of thoughts.

First, in terms of prospects, I would group Mayer in with Moncada, Westmoreland in terms of hype. Moncada, obviously, with the 21 million price tag, was a must follow, and Westmoreland signed for $2 million, jumped the GCL to Lowell, where he slashed almost 900 as an 18 YO before he broke his wrist.
My thoughts were originally to also include Betts, but he was an afterthought in the draft, who generated hype only after his first season at Lowell (a sub 700 ops), and therefore did not have the immediate spotlight of "check box score as its happening." It's arbitrary, and guess Xander also hit the ground running pretty well stateside by skipping the GCL, but his bonus kept him under the radar his first year. I don't recall Benintendi as being more than an afterthought even though he was the top 10 pick and hit the ground running at Lowell, maybe because he was stuck behind the other prospects. Maybe I'm just misremembering.

Second, this brings home the odd minor league contraction without low minor teams. It sounds like Mayer will not be playing in the GCL, but he's at the same stage as Brainer, and next year, where will Brainer play? Not like he's lighting the GCL on fire in the first two weeks, but will he repeat short season while Mayer goes to Salem?

Pudgy guy with Rollie Fingers mustache analyzes (last Friday) Mayer's swing, especially how he uses his pelvis and how he's a good ball-striker:

I hate billionaires crying poverty.  If you cant afford a sports franchise then sell.  There are plenty of Steve Cohens out there.

Comparing Mayer's upside to Casas' average projection is certainly one way to make Mayer look better! But Casas' upside is all-star slugger, which is not too shabby. And Casas may be slumping right now, but I hope you don't get too down on Mayer when he goes through the inevitable growing pains...

I don’t mind it. It makes the draft more strategic, which creates more interest, I think.

But also: $11 million means something different in Boston and in Kansas City. If there weren’t set numbers, the Red Sox (or someone) could say to Leiter, hey, we’ll give you $15 million if you hold out to our second round pick. It might not always work, but it would go a long way to undermining a team like Pittsburgh at #1.