Pap tells All-Star stories, picks Home Run Derby winner
SEATTLE - The irony Major League Baseball held its 2023 Draft smack in the middle of a football stadium shouldn't be lost on anyone. It is the National Football League's Draft MLB desperately wants to emulate, after all.
A big stage. A big crowd. The Commissioner getting booed upon every entrance. Crazed fans setting the tone in various get-ups in front of the announcements. That's what Rob Manfred and Co. were going for.
It was a good effort.
Everything about Sunday's presentation at Lumen Field fell well short of the NFL standard, although the enthusiasm and representative crowd was certainly a step in the right direction compared to the previous sterile confines of the MLB Network studios.
For a perfect example of how different the two Drafts are, all one has to do is analyze what happened when the Red Sox took their first-rounder - University of Virginia catcher Kyle Teel - at No. 14 overall.
Manfred came out. He announced the pick. Teel's image was flashed all over the stage. And then the Googling and listening started. Remember when Mac Jones was taken at No. 15 overall? This wasn't that.
But just because Teel might be unfamiliar to those who hadn't been paying attention to college baseball this past season - and this is a player who won't call Fenway Park his home for at least a couple of years - that doesn't mean this didn't represent a significant moment for the organization doing the drafting.
This is a player who wasn't supposed to slip to the Red Sox' spot (ranked No. 7 by MLB.com), by all accounts living the life as a player who can be a significant part of the late 2020's foundation.
"We were really excited," said Red Sox director of amateur scouting Devin Pearson. "Any time you can add a premium position player like Kyle, with the athlete that he is, at pick 14, it’s a great pick. So we were really excited to get him there, and [we're] pumped to have him in the organization."
Pearson added regarding Teel (a New Jersey native who grew up rooting for the Yankees), "He can really throw. He can really block. He can slide. His hands are good. His framing continues to get better,” said Pearson. “I think he kind of touches all the boxes for us in terms of what we value from a development standpoint. He fits a lot of things that we value behind the plate."
The story of a player like Jones and his NFL Draft brethren are told almost immediately. Teel? That's going to take time. Heck, there is even a possibility catcher isn't his identity when the big leagues come calling thanks to an athleticism that is leaving spots such as second base an option.
For now, Teel is a catcher. It's a position the Red Sox hadn't taken this high up in the Draft since John Marzano was plucked at No. 14 overall in 1984. (Jason Varitek was also selected at No. 14 by the Mariners in 1994.
"I would say athleticism-wise, I compare myself to Buster Posey," Teel said. "He was just a great athlete back there. He was amazing. So I would compare myself to him."
Teel was not in attendance at the MLB extravaganza, but the Red Sox' second pick, high school shortstop Nazzan Zanetello, was one of the seven players getting a chance to walk out on stage.
Zanetello had to wait 50 picks to get his handshake. But that's baseball. Patience is part of the equation, which doesn't always make for a must-see Draft event but can lead to some pretty important players.
Now, we all wait.