1st Round Pick (15 overall): Devin Mesoraco, Catcher, High School

[KoryMac5]

Hopefully Bench will weigh in with some observations too.

[Eric_Davis]

Originally Posted by smith288

Devin, family and friends react to the news he was drafted by the Reds



link

You can see his scar in that photo.

[StillFunkyB]

Mesoraco said he grew up wanting ot be like Johnny Bench and is honored the Reds selected him because of that.

If he is half the Player JB was, I's be happy with that.

[BoydsOfSummer]

I agree. Half of the greatest player to ever play the game would be a heckuva nice player to have.

[mth123]

Originally Posted by BoydsOfSummer

I agree. Half of the greatest player to ever play the game would be a heckuva nice player to have.

Babe Ruth was a pitcher at his age.

[OnBaseMachine]

Devin has one game remaining...

Punxsutawney (15-7) will face District 1 runner-up Marple Newtown in the PIAA championship game at 2 p.m. Friday in Altoona. The District 9 champion Chucks are led by catcher Devin Mesoraco, who was selected 15th overall by the Cincinnati Reds in last week's Major League Baseball draft.

"We made it to the western finals a couple years ago and making it to the state final, that's a different feeling," Mesoraco said. "Hopefully, we can go there and do our best, but this was a major win. It would mean a lot to finish the year out on a good note like that."

Mesoraco will head to his minor-league assignment next week, but in the meantime, he hopes to help Punxsutawney claim its first state title. He contributed yesterday with a home run, which was a line drive over the 340-foot left-field fence, and three walks. Mesoraco lived up to the hype behind the plate when he scooped up a ball in the dirt and showed off his MLB-caliber arm by throwing out a Blackhawk runner by three steps.

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbur.../s_512163.html

[dougdirt]

Great stuff OBM.

It sounds like the Reds and him have agreed on everything but he just cant sign anything yet.

[BoydsOfSummer]

Mesoraco will head to his minor-league assignment next week, but in the meantime,

Doesn't he have to sign first? Or did he sign and I missed it?

[Red Leader]

Originally Posted by BoydsOfSummer

Doesn't he have to sign first? Or did he sign and I missed it?

As doug said, he has probably agreed to a contract and terms of the contract, but is not allowed to legally sign that contract until his high school baseball season is completed.

[BoydsOfSummer]

Aahhh...okay, that sounds plausible. Thanks.

[redsmetz]

From the Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper, a story about the top pick for the Reds.

PUNXSUTAWNEY - Some people believe in first impressions. For Mike Chroniger, it took just two days to notice that Punxsy senior catcher Devin Mesoraco would be a professional baseball player. "I knew it the second day I saw him. The first day, he was only there for a really short time," said Chroniger, who coached Mesoraco for three summers in the Mid-Atlantic Rookies baseball program. "The second day, I knew - it was kind of obvious that he was a player that was going to be a pro-ball player."

Chroniger was right, as just last Thursday, the Cincinnati Reds selected Mesoraco with their 15th overall pick in the MLB First-Year Player Draft.

While Mesoraco, a catcher, has been praised for his rocket arm, speed on the basepaths and powerful swing, it's personality that takes Mesoraco to a whole different level.

"Everybody's been saying all along that he's a tremendous athlete, and that he brings a level of play to the game. The bottom line is, he is a good person," said Doug Mesoraco, Devin's father. "They like his athleticism, and they know, based on that, that he's going to work hard."

After coaching Major League talents such as David Wright - who is playing for the New York Mets - and Ryan Zimmerman - who is currently a Washington National - Chroniger paralleled Mesoraco's personality and desire to Wright and Zimmerman.

"There's a lot of good ball-players out there that don't make it. Personality really helps - you have to be able to get along with coaches, players and the whole organization. Otherwise, you just become an individual playing baseball," Chroniger said. "Colleges and pro-teams are looking more and more about the (personality of the) player. That's why they do the player profiles. They do the evaluations and testings prior to (pursuing the player) to find out the makeup of the player, rather than 'Can he play?'

"There's kids out there that can play, but they can't be teammates," he said.

Tony Reid, who has coached against Mesoraco in Junior Legion action for Keystone Rehabilitation in Indiana, said he took some time out of a busy day to watch Mesoraco be drafted June 7 on ESPN2.

Reid works nearly three hours away from midnight to 8 a.m., and once he got home to Indiana at 11 a.m. June 7, he made sure to wake up before 2 p.m. to hear the calling of Mesoraco's name before coaching a Junior Legion game later that evening.

"That was important to me. I just wanted to see where he was called," Reid said. "Devin's just a really likable kid. That's really nice to see a kid that's put so much time and effort into it."

Mesoraco was part of Fezell's Enterprises' 15-and-under Junior Legion team as just a 12-year-old. Once he was 14 and the team's starting catcher, Mesoraco led Fezell's to the state championship.

"He's a leader, and he doesn't get excited when things are going bad," Reid said. "He's pretty level-headed, and he was like that at a young age. That's what's impressive about him."

When Fezell's Enterprises beat Marion Center in the Pennsylvania Junior American Legion championship in 2002, Marion Center manager Don Stitt watched Mesoraco hit a two-run, game-winning triple. Stitt said it was hard to judge whether Mesoraco would be a professional ball-player, but he loves the way Mesoraco approaches the game.

"I felt he could go a long way just because of the way he plays the game," said Stitt, who's in the middle of his 20th season as Marion Center's Junior Legion manager. "He's aggressive, and he plays very hard. When he's on the field, he's totally focused. I've coached for a long time, and that's the type of playing I like. Even if he's getting the hit to beat you, as an opposing coach, you appreciate guys that play hard."

When Mesoraco's name was called in the draft, not only close friends and family felt proud - former coaches and former opponents did nothing but smile because they know he deserved it.

Many who saw Mesoraco play knew he was good, but couldn't decide whether he had the ability to be a major leaguer. Chroniger, for certain, knew this day would come sooner than later.

"I'm as proud as I could be," he said. "I want to say I was as proud as (his) mom and dad. But I just knew that Devin would be picked. Devin was a given."

[redsmetz]

Mesoraco finished his high school season today with his Punxsutawney High School team defeating Marple Newtown 5-4 for the Pennsylvania AAA baseball championship. Mesoraco went 1-2 with 3 walks (2 intentional) and scored two runs. Let's see how quickly we can get him signed now that his career is over.

[11larkin11]

He isn't signed yet?

Bust

[Mario-Rijo]

This was from Keith Law prior to the draft. It should give everyone an idea of what to look for as far as his development to come. Posted Monday May 14th

• On Wednesday, I saw Punxsutawney (Pa.) High School -- yes, where the groundhog lives -- catcher Devin Mesoraco. His game at the plate is pretty simple: he controls the zone and hits bombs, or at least he did in batting practice, since he took three four-pitch walks followed by an intentional walk issued with his team up nine runs. His swing is complicated, with a lot of extra movement -- he doesn't bring his hands set, he has a two-part two-tap stride rather than bringing his foot down flat, and his path to the ball isn't always direct -- but he's strong and has plus bat speed. Behind the plate, he receives well, shows a lot of energy, and showed a plus arm in his warm-up throws. After missing all of his junior year due to Tommy John surgery, he'll be one of the top two high school catchers taken in this year's draft.

[OesterPoster]

Another article from his local paper, the Punxsutawney Spirit.

Mesoraco ends career with six PAHS records

Written by Dan Walk

PUNXSUTAWNEY - Devin Mesoraco left his mark in Punxsutawney lore by becoming the No. 15 pick by the Cincinnati Reds in the Major League Baseball Draft June 7. But before he was drafted, he was in the midst of not only a record-breaking high school record, but a record-shattering career in red & white.

Mesoraco broke six career-marks once the season concluded, one single-season record in 2007 and one single-season mark in 2005.

"Devin owns most of the major career hitting marks in school history," Punxsy head coach Paul Hetrick said. "He totally dominated in runs, hits and walks. I can't imagine anyone ever scoring as many runs as he did or being walked as much as he was; but as they say, all records are made to be broken, so you never know."

Mesoraco walked 91 times in his high school career to destroy the previous record at 44. In 2007, he walked 31 times to compile the single-season record.

His 122 career runs scored also wiped away the previous mark of 64. The career-hit record toppled as well, since Mesoraco finished with 101 to beat out 80 hits, the previous number.

Mesoraco also set the mark in home runs (18), doubles (25) and stolen bases (35).

After another productive season of driving in runs, Mesoraco also ended his career with 67 RBIs and is second on the all-time triple list with five.

Mesoraco's best season of scoring runs was 2005 when he scored 40, a PAHS single-season record.

"He put together some truly amazing stats," Hetrick said. "Devin was a major reason for our success over the years. Most of all, he was a winner, and he compiled those numbers while doing his best to help his team win games, and his teams won a lot of games through the years. We wish him continued success on his climb through the Reds' system."

...The Chucks have won four-straight District IX Class AAA titles, and Mesoraco was part of the varsity squad all four years.