The Red Sox might have struck gold with Marcelo Mayer, whose skill set has some believing he could be a five-tool player at the big league level.
Not to mention, the shortstop also boasts the intangibles you look for in a potential face-of-the-franchise player.
Red Sox amateur scouting director Paul Toboni expressed as much after Boston used the fourth overall pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft on Mayer. The club evidently is impressed by how the 18-year-old carries himself on the field.
"I think the first thing that jumps out to you about the kid is really how he -- this sounds crazy -- but how he interacts with people," Toboni told reporters Sunday, per MLB.com. "Just walking into the park and how mature he is and what a leader he is. It just jumps out at you right from the get go."
Toboni continued: "...He's just got such purity to his game. I don't know how else to put it. His actions and the ease to which he plays shortstop, such a difficult position, there's no effort to it. We think he will get bigger and stronger, but we don't think he'll sacrifice his speed or his lateral range. That's really exciting for us."
It likely will be some time before we see Mayer reach the top flight. Nonetheless, the Red Sox fans should be excited about one of the newest additions to the franchise's farm system.
