The pitcher has been on the radar for years, especially for Red Sox scout Dante Ricciardi, who saw him play at Spruce Creek High School in Florida. Last season, Neely went 3-4 with a 5.13 ERA and five saves. He made six starts and pitched 79 innings in 28 games.
“The biggest thing for me when you talk about (Neely) is he’s a competitor,” Ricciardi said. “It’s 100 percent game from the moment he gets the ball to the moment he finishes.”
Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan echoed Ricciardi’s comments, saying Neely is one of the most, if not the most, competitive players he has seen in his 17 years at the helm of the Gators program.
“He’s one of the best players we’ve ever had,” O’Sullivan said. “I’m very happy for him, and I love the Red Sox. We’ve had a lot of players (drafted by him) over the last few years, and I’m very happy to be going to one of their best organizations.”
Neely thinks her competitive nature and work ethic partly comes from her parents, who grew up playing sports and inspired her to never quit. He tries to be the best player in the room, the best player he can be. Ricciardi said that Neely’s competitiveness can sometimes be a flaw, but he thinks he will be a great fit with the Sox.
“In our environment, it’s something you can imagine him being successful at, because it’s Boston,” Ricciardi explained. “They’re hungry to win, this kid wants to win. He is never one to back down from anyone or any situation, he is very willing to compete regardless of the environment.
At Florida, Neely started 10 games as a freshman before being shifted into the closer’s role the following year. Heading into this past season, O’Sullivan began redrafting Neely as a starter because he was not sure what direction his career would take.
“I always wanted to be a starter, but in high-pressure situations I adapted to that closing role and I really like it,” Neely said. “I really wanted to move on from there, but for those high-pressure situations, I live for them and I love it. Any opportunity I got to pitch in and help my team in big situations, I wanted to do it.”
Amateur scouting director Devin Pearson explained that Neely’s consistent use as a reliever was not because he was not starter material; Florida just needed support in the bullpen.
“We see starter upside with the ability to create a lot of different shapes and velocities,” Pearson said. “He’s a guy we’re really excited to have joining our organization and letting our pitching department work with him.”
Even when he comes on in relief, Neely has longevity and can throw 3-5 innings.
“As you watch him, he gets better deeper into games. He works fast, he pitches with velocity and he’s extremely aggressive,” Ricciardi said. “So you’re sitting there and you’re saying to yourself, ‘Well, if he’s throwing three to five innings now why couldn’t he do that at the beginning of the game?'”
As a junior, Neely continued to build his arsenal, which includes four solid pitches and a curveball that he does not use. Neely’s fastball can hit 97 mph and averages around 93, and he has a slider for his secondary pitch, as well as a mid-80s breaker and an upper-80s changeup. Is.
Neely never went further north than New York City. He’s not a fan of the cold, but his introduction to Northeast baseball will be one he’ll never forget.
The Sox selected six pitchers among their first 10 picks, but Ricciardi said they were not specifically targeting pitchers.
“(Pitching) is something we have some but we don’t have a lot of, and if we can add more depth there, we’re obviously going to do that,” Ricciardi explained. “I don’t think we had any universal philosophy other than connecting the best athletes and the best talent.”
The selection of lefty Peyton Towle in Round 2 on Sunday night and Neely in the third round on Monday marked the first pitcher selections by the Red Sox since 2017. They also selected righthanders Blake Aita (Round 6) and Conrad Casson (two-way). player in Round 8), and left-backs Brandon Clarke (Round 5) and Devin Futrell (Round 10). Boston also snagged outfielders Zach Ehrhardt (Round 4) and Will Turner (Round 7) and catcher Hudson White (Round 9) on the second day.
Cason, the only high school pick, impressed at the draft combine at shortstop. The 17-year-old is committed to Mississippi State, but the Sox hope they will be able to sign him and develop him as both a shortstop and pitcher.
“Conrad has a lot of skills on both sides. He’s really athletic, and hits the ball really hard,” Pearson said. “So we’re going to develop him into a two-way player and see how it goes.” But he’s made huge upsides on both sides of the ball, and we’ll see how the chips fall.”
The Red Sox have 10 more selections on Tuesday and, according to Pearson, no specific targets.
“We’ll try to take the best player available with each of our picks and continue to work through the 20 to try to add value,” Pearson said.
Sarah Barber can be reached at sarah.barber@globe.com.
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