Failure is a foreign concept for most high school first-round picks, and Devin Mesoraco was no different. Other than Tommy John surgery as a sophomore, not much had slowed down Mesoraco on the field at Punxsutawney (Pa.) High.
The 2007 grad wrapped his prep career by winning a state championship and being drafted by the Reds at No. 15 overall. Touted as an athletic catcher with a strong chance to stick behind the plate, Mesoraco quickly signed for $1.4 million and reported to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League.
He then spent that summer learning a lot about failure.
“All that stuff was very challenging. I struggled initially,” Mesoraco said. “You go to Florida and it’s a thousand degrees, and I’d never played in heat like that . . . It became somewhat overwhelming, I didn’t play very well.”
This story is from the October 2022 edition of Baseball America.
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This story is from the October 2022 edition of Baseball America.
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