Red Sox 2023 Draftee Shares First Impression Of Fenway Park

Nazzan Zantello had never been to Boston prior to getting selected by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft in July.

Now joining the Red Sox’s latest crew of prospects soon to join the organization’s farm system, Zantello took in his first Fenway Park experience during an introductory visit around Boston’s 111-year-old cathedral.

“Walking on Fenway, it’s gonna sound very cliché, but you can feel the aura of the history of the stadium,” Zanetello told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo on the “Fenway Rundown” podcast. “Just walking through, walking in the Monster, walking on the Monster, through the dugout, I feel like it’s very historic. Back then, it was way ahead of its time because even now it looks up to date.”

Zanetello added: “It’s definitely (a) place I wanna play one day.”

Drafted at No. 50 overall out of Christian Brothers High School in St. Louis, Zantello has quickly embraced being a member of the Red Sox, already setting the bar high in aspiring to someday be like former Boston star and seven-time All-Star Mookie Betts.

Zanetello, 18, played shortstop in high school and recorded an impressive offensive performance while representing the United States in the 18-and-under national team. The initial Arkansas commit batted .421 with a home run, two doubles and nine RBIs in eight games played while also going a perfect 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts, too.

The Red Sox are already stacked with middle infielders in their farm system — Marcelo Mayer, Ceddanne Rafaela and Nick Yorke — so perhaps Zanetello might want to consider drawing some early inspiration from Betts and expand his defensive versatility in order to build up his value.