The Red Sox already made noise on Day 1 by taking Jake Schaffner 20th overall out of UNC. Now they're doubling down on their draft class with a move that's almost as loud, just three rounds later.
Jim Callis broke the news that Boston signed third-rounder Jace Mataczynski, a Wisconsin high school shortstop out of Hudson, for $2 million against a slot value of just $815,700. That's a $1.2 million overpay, and it's how you buy a kid out of a college commitment.
3rd-rder Jace Mataczynski signs w/@RedSox for $2 million (slot 96 value = $815,700). Wisconsin prep SS, quality athlete w/20-20 upside. @AuburnBaseball recruit.
That's not a small ask. Mataczynski was committed to Auburn, and prep shortstops with real pop and real speed don't usually need to sign for underslot money just to turn pro. Boston had to make it worth his while, and they did.
Scouts like the tools across the board. Callis pegged him as a quality athlete with 20-20 upside, and that lines up with what's been said about his game all spring: a 6-foot-3, 190-pound shortstop with plus speed, a strong arm and a glove that's been compared to a young Marcelo Mayer's. Red Sox scouting director Jake Bruml has reportedly called him one of the best high school shortstop defenders he's personally scouted, which is the kind of praise that gets a front office to write a bigger check.
The bigger picture matters here too. Boston has leaned on an underslot-early, overslot-late strategy through this draft, banking savings on top picks to go get players like Mataczynski who they think are better than where they landed. It's the same model that's built a lot of the current farm system, and getting a potential shortstop of the future to walk away from Auburn for cash is exactly the kind of swing that strategy is built for.
Now it's about development. Mataczynski heads into a farm system that already has plenty of infield depth, but upside at short is never something a team turns down. If the tools translate, this is the kind of pick that looks like a steal in hindsight -- and if not, it's $2 million that could've gone toward slot-value certainty instead. Boston clearly liked their odds.