Red Sox take Marcelo Mayer with fourth overall pick

Pretty much everything about the 2020 season was a disaster for the Red Sox, who got rocked out of the gate, fell out of the race seemingly right after the season began, and finished with the fourth-worst record in all of baseball. The one good to come out of that is their possession of the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft, their highest selection since 1967. They caught a hell of a break with the pick as well, with the near-consensus top overall talent falling to them. That would be Marcelo Mayer, a high school shortstop from Eastlake High School in California.

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Heading into the draft, every single mock draft out there (that I saw at least) had Mayer going number one overall to the Pirates. Instead, Pittsburgh shook things up, taking Henry Davis number one. Texas then took Jack Leiter while Detroit somewhat surprisingly went with Jackson Jobe, leaving Mayer there for Boston. With the 18-year-old (he’ll turn 19 in December), Boston gets an all-around talent. Mayer is perhaps the best defensive shortstop of this high school class, and he adds in a good bat with a strong hit tool that should help him tap into at least average power. As a high school player, there is a long way to go until he makes it to the bigs, but this is about as exciting a scenario as could have played out. Mayer is committed to USC, but the Red Sox would not have made this deal if they weren’t confident in signing him.

We’ll have much more on this pick later tonight and tomorrow morning as well, but for now, here is your space to discuss the newest member of the Red Sox farm system.