Late-round MLB Draft picks usually don't receive much fanfare upon their selections, but the Boston Red Sox's 19th-round draft pick has already made noise around MLB.
Boston drafted D'Angelo Ortiz, the son of Red Sox legend and baseball Hall of Famer David Ortiz, on July 16. Ortiz frequented Fenway Park with his dad as a child, and he said on Instagram that being drafted by the Sox was " dream."
Ortiz has played two seasons at Miami Dade Community College, where he posted a .355 batting average, a .449 on-base percentage and 60 runs across his career. Big Papi's youngest son only has 13 extra-base hits in his college career — quite a different style of play than his father. He carries some of the defensive versatility the Red Sox are trying to cultivate on their farm system, as he plays third base and in the outfield.
Ortiz has also played for the Brockton Rox of the Futures Collegiate League. He's batting .311 with seven RBI over 11 games with the Rox this season. The 20-year-old garnered attention for his time in Brockton in 2022, when he played alongside the sons of fellow Red Sox legends Pedro Martínez, Keith Foulke and Manny Ramirez.
The Red Sox selected David Ortiz's son, D'Angelo Ortiz, in the 19th round of the MLB Draft
What a special day for @davidortiz as the @RedSox draft his son, D'Angelo Ortiz, in the 19th round ❤️ pic.twitter.com/QZTcEGVjO5
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 16, 2024
Ortiz's father co-hosted Fox's All-Star Game broadcast just hours after his son was taken by his longtime club. The former slugger was emotional as he and his co-hosts and once-rivals discussed his son's dreams.
"It's a great feeling," Ortiz said on the broadcast. "When you see your kids moving forward in their life, toward being a lot of emotion goes through you."
It'll be years before Red Sox Nation could see an Ortiz in a Red Sox uniform again, and fans likely don't expect much from a 19th-round pick. But Alex Rodriguez was kind enough to remind fans that late-round picks can still become legends. Yankees icon Don Mattingly was drafted in the 19th round — Ortiz could be the next great late-round steal for Boston.