Dawgs grad gets invite to Bosox camp
This is news that Jordan Procyshen was not expecting.
Not just yet, anyway.
The Calgary-raised catcher had just wrapped a live hitting session at the Okotoks Dawgs top-notch training facility a few weeks back when he returned a call from a Boston Red Sox staffer, anxious to inform that he would be attending spring training with the millionaire major-leaguers.
“It was like a kid that gets the news they’re going to Disneyland,” Procyshen said.
“I was hoping maybe next year I would get the call for big-league camp, but this was completely out of the blue.”
A 14th-round selection of the Red Sox in the 2014 MLB Draft, Procyshen has twice already reported to Fenway South in Fort Myers, Fla., for spring training.
Except that this time, the 23-year-old — a graduate of Fish Creek Little League and later a standout for the Western Major Baseball League’s Dawgs — won’t be working with the up-and-comers on the back fields.
When pitchers and catchers officially check in Sunday, Procyshen could find himself crouched for bullpen sessions with reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello or star southpaw David Price or prized off-season acquisition Chris Sale.
During base-stealing drills or perhaps even Grapefruit League action, he could find himself trying to throw darts to stalwart secondbagger Dustin Pedroia or to stud shortstop Xander Bogaerts.
“People always ask me the same question — ‘Are you going to be star-struck?’ ” Procyshen said. “And it’s like, ‘As much as you want to be, as much as you might be, you’re not allowed to be.’ Because, yeah, you might be looking up those guys, but you could easily be their teammate in a year or two years.”
Procyshen was stationed last season with the Salem Red Sox of the High-A Carolina League, posting a .249 batting average, 29 RBIs and four dingers in 61 games.