The number of second-generation stars finding their way into baseball’s highest levels is peaking.
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Now, the son of Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer David Ortiz has a chance to make a name for himself too.
Este miércoles, David Ortiz Jr. fue contratado por los Rangers de Texas con un bono que lo permitirá debutar en la liga profesional.
Jonny Clum, asistente del director de scouteo y desarrollo internacional de los Rangers, estuvo presente en la firma que tuvo lugar en el complejo… pic.twitter.com/g05OC7k46v— CDN 37 (@CDN37) August 8, 2024
According to insider Hector Gomez, the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers have signed David Ortiz Jr. to a bonus of $225,000 plus a student scholarship.
“That boy is a clone of me, the one who looks most like me,” Ortiz said of his son, according to the Dallas Morning News. “He worked hard at a development complex and in one year that boy has become a criminal with the bat.”
The younger Ortiz, 17, isn’t even the first of David Ortiz’s sons to reach organized baseball this year.
D’Angelo Ortiz was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 19th round (567th overall pick) of the 2024 MLB Draft.
Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images
The trend of second-generation stars perhaps reached its peak with the Toronto Blue Jays, who rebuilt their club in recent years around a core including Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Dante Bichette’s son, Bo. Both players have emerged as All-Stars in their own right.
The Blue Jays also drafted the son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, Cavan Biggio, before designating him for assignment earlier this year.
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Teams are obviously betting on the athletic bloodlines of each player carrying over; the familiarity each second-generation talent has with the pro sports environment certainly doesn’t hurt, either.
After the Red Sox drafted D’Angelo Ortiz, Boston’s draft director, Devin Pearson, told MLB.com that the younger Ortiz wasn’t a token draft pick.
“I just want to make it clear that D’Angelo is a prospect and the reason we selected him is a result of the relationship that our area scout has had with the player for a long time,” Pearson said. “And we had him at a workout recently and got to interact with him, just felt like it was a good add to the organization. And it’s a plus that his dad’s David Ortiz, but we drafted him as a prospect.”
The same could be said of Ortiz Jr., especially if his dad’s comments of him being a “criminal with the bat” ring true.
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