Boston Red Sox fans watched D’Angelo Ortiz grow up. They saw him tagging along at Fenway Park with his father, Hall of Fame slugger David Ortiz.
Will they one day soon see D’Angelo join the Red Sox lineup?
The Red Sox drafted the next-generation Ortiz in the 19th round of the 2024 MLB Draft Monday. While it’s notoriously difficult to project which players selected in the later rounds will make the majors — even first-round picks regularly flame out — the young Ortiz will get every chance to prove himself.
Ortiz, who turned 20 on July 10, played for Miami Dade College last season. While he doesn’t have the power his father (541 career MLB home runs) brought to the plate, the infielder slashed .328/.431/.374 with one home run and 38 RBI in the college ranks.
Red Sox have drafted D’Angelo Ortiz in the 19th round.
David Ortiz’s son.
He’s going to have a lot of people rooting for him. pic.twitter.com/mmK7XzB4eN
— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) July 16, 2024
David Ortiz, now an MLB studio analyst with Fox Sports, will provide plenty of advice. And there’s no question the younger Ortiz benefited from spending so much time around the game with his father.
“I had the coolest childhood a young baseball fan could ask for, and that doesn’t happen without you being you,” Ortiz wrote in a letter to his father, published on NESN.com in 2022.
Fans were happy to hear the news.
This is so special! #SmallPapi https://t.co/q7EWhi4t17
— Darijan Briški (@rajv0sa) July 16, 2024
It doesn’t get any better than that! Love it!! #MLBDraft https://t.co/fmf7ZhN16y
— Coach Ousley (@CoachOusley) July 16, 2024
Wow, makes me feel old af😭 @BostonAggie https://t.co/68hMukMyRN
— DeBoerBurner (@GoldingsBurner) July 16, 2024
Lil Papi is his nickname according to my sources. https://t.co/Jz81d1bP1l
— Andrew Sheehy (@andrewsheehy228) July 16, 2024
There were immediate comparisons to the Los Angeles Lakers’ controversial decision to draft LeBron James’ son Bronny in the second round. And there were a few MLB fans crying “nepotism,” at Monday’s news.
But the two situations are quite different. While second-round NBA draft picks lack the obvious upside of first-rounders, the picks are still valuable commodities. By contrast, players selected in the latter rounds of the MLB Draft are usually viewed as projects, with limited potential of making the majors. And there have been many cases of draft picks spent on players who clearly didn’t have a MLB future.
So, even if the Red Sox drafted D’Angelo merely as a courtesy to their former star, it’s not like they threw away a pick that might have gone to a certain future MLB player. And who knows, the younger Ortiz might still make the big leagues. Much stranger things have happened with late-round MLB picks.
Mike Piazza was drafted in the 62nd round as a favor to his father. You never know. https://t.co/axdftYVITf
— Rick Canale (@RickCanale) July 16, 2024
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