Boston Bateman is a man of faith, and his passion helps guide him on his quest for the ultimate goal: a major league career. 

The San Diego Padres selected Boston Bateman with their second-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.

At 19, Boston Bateman is in his infancy in professional baseball.

The 6-foot-8 teenager is honest and boisterous. He brings energy with him when he walks into a room. At 6-foot-8 and 240 lbs., it is hard not to notice him. He speaks in a booming voice that is reminiscent of his stature and throws comments at you, matching his 98-mph fastball. Not in a bad way, but one must be on their toes when conversing with this young pitcher. He is fun.

Our interaction started one-on-one, but Kash Mayfield joined us for a few minutes to discuss their relationship. You can find more about that here, as these two are truly brothers.

Bateman describes himself as a goofy kid, which may be true now, but you get a sense that he is wise beyond his years.

We spoke about the draft and how surreal the last 12 months have been for him. “It has been awesome. I am enjoying every minute of it. This has been my dream since I was like two years old,” Bateman tells EVT. He loves the game of baseball. The Padres calling his name was a dream come true for this lefty. “I was so excited. That was my number one team coming into it,” Bateman said. “I love the San Diego area. I basically went there every month as a kid. We would go to Oceanside and go camping. I have had many relatives who have lived there. For me, it was the perfect fit. It is the best place to play baseball.”

The fact that he is a hot commodity at games and young fans call his name and ask for autographs is still slightly surreal to Bateman, but he is adjusting to it. “I got used to it in spring training. It was like that every single day. But I have enjoyed every single minute of it,” Bateman said with a smile. He loves the kids. He describes himself as a big kid, so you know he will always show love to the young fans.

Bateman was drafted out of Camarillo, California. His parents still live there and make the hour-and-40-minute drive to see their son. Even his grandparents came to see him pitch. That is special to Bateman as he enjoys it while he can. Soon, his development will head east, and with that, family visits will be less frequent. “They always support me. I am so thankful,” Bateman said.

Playing ball at Camarillo High School, Bateman earned the nickname “Sasquatch” from his baseball coach. We discussed the nickname as he proudly explained it. “I was in eighth grade and going into my first year of high school. I went to the Camarillo High School baseball tryouts, and my coach, Dmitri Young, saw me. At the time, I was like 6-foot-4, 220 lbs., and I walk up to him and he’s like- Oh my gosh, it’s a baby Bigfoot,” Bateman describes. “It kind of just stuck throughout the whole season and went from Bigfoot to Sasquatch.”

His old coach, Dmitri Young, was an excellent major leaguer. He played 13 years in the big leagues and collected over 1,300 hits. The former first-round pick (4th overall) in the 1991 MLB Draft still speaks to Bateman to this day and helps guide the young pitcher. “Dmitri was a huge part of my life and still is,” Bateman explains. It is great to have mentorship in baseball, and Young is an excellent person to have on your side.

This past week, Yu Darvish came to Lake Elsinore and faced some of the Storm hitters in a simulated game.Bateman was front and center behind home plate to watch the Padres pitcher work out. He wanted to see the major league pitcher firsthand, and he feels he learned from Darvish even though they did not communicate much. “We (Kash Mayfield and he) were more like watching his mannerisms. His routine and approach to different hitters. Just how his mindset is, it helps a lot,” Bateman said.

The young southpaw absorbs information whenever he can, but baseball analytics are something he slowly digests. Bateman describes himself as an old-school kid when it comes to trackman information. “I look at that type of stuff, but I look to the point where it can help me. I stop when I begin to overanalyze it, ” Bateman explains. “Honestly, I am not looking at a ton of those metrics. I base it on what I see from the hitter with me and the catcher collaborating. Tunneling each pitch off each other and things like that are what I concentrate on.”

In the Cal League, Bateman is productive, but is also being challenged. He is 5-3 right now with a 3.54 ERA and a 1.232 WHIP in 56 innings pitched. He has struck out 63 in that time while walking 19 batters. In his last game, he struck out a career-high nine batters in five innings pitched. He threw 89 pitches in that game, which was also a career-high. The Padres and Storm are being cautious with this young pitcher. There is no need to rush him and pile on innings at this point in his career.

Despite having early success, the southpaw has a great respect for the competition he is facing in the California League. “There is great talent out here. I am excited to be here and compete every single Thursday,” Bateman said with a smile. There is confidence in this young pitcher. “I am here to show everyone what I got.”

Boston Bateman is getting excellent support in Lake Elsinore. His coach, Brian Burres, is a former major league pitcher who is also a southpaw. The young coach is mentoring Bateman, and it is a great help. Burres is not a fiery manager. He is not the type to turn over a trash can in the clubhouse or berate his team. Burres knows the Cal League is the beginning of their careers for most of these men, and it is all about development and getting your work in effectively. Bateman is comfortable with his manager, who has the opposite personality from his own. “He’s been so awesome. He is a calming influence on me,” Bateman said about his manager. The Padres did well in selecting Burres to manage Bateman and Kash Mayfield in their first taste of pro ball.

Early in the year, Luis Patino spent some time with the Storm on the active roster. The young Colombian pitcher assisted several members of the Storm staff. “He was great. He has a lot of energy and helped us a lot,” Bateman said. Patino discussed pitching with the Storm staff and assisted in the development of Bateman. Patino and Bateman have equal energy, and their interactions must have been interesting to witness. The fact that Patino helped these young pitchers speaks to his character.

In discussing the game and the nuances of pitching, Boston Bateman points to his thick skin as a benefit for him on the mound. In pitching, the inevitable bad times will come. The true mark of a great pitcher is how they adjust and work themselves out of bad situations. “When things go downhill, my ability to come back up is my strength,” Bateman said proudly. Despite his “goofy’ demeanor, Bateman is a critical thinker about the craft of pitching. “I learned from a young age that there is some stuff I can’t control. I just control what I can. At 12 years old, I learned this: instead of seeing things as a failure, I think of them as a learning experience. Mistakes are going to happen. It is just about getting the next guy.”

In his first season of professional baseball, the young lefty set a few goals for himself. The first is about being healthy and taking care of his prep work.  “For me to get all my innings in and be consistent with everything I do. I want to be consistent with the program I do every day,” Bateman said. Preparation work is crucial for this young pitcher. He throws once a week, so Bateman knows that the real work is done on the other six days of the week.

The young pitcher is on track to meet his goals, which we discussed further. “I came into this season and wanted to throw 98 mph. I did that. Another thing is that I want to finish my season in Fort Wayne. Hopefully, that will happen,” Bateman said. If he continues to build on his consistency with his pitches, he will surely advance this season. The Padres probably would like to see what the young pitcher can do in Fort Wayne.

In talking specifics about his repertoire, Bateman was upfront. “I throw a fastball, a change-up, a curveball, and a slider. My slider- it sometimes gets sweeperish. It gets great horizontal movement. I can throw my curveball and slider in any count and anywhere I want. Those two pitches, I have a really good feel for. I can throw them anywhere I want. It has taken a long time for me to be able to do that.” Bateman said with confidence.

His fourth selection is the change, which he is starting to use more. In the California League, he does not necessarily need to feature the pitch. However, as he advances, he will need to keep hitters off-balance. Boston Bateman knows that fact, and it’s interesting to hear him discuss refining his changeup. “My changeup is a pretty depthy pitch. It moves down and away (to right-handed hitters) so it’s kind of horizontal and vertical,” Bateman explains. The change is a feel pitch, and he is working on becoming more comfortable with the selection. “The changeup is getting there, but that is one of the hardest feel pitches to throw in baseball. It just takes time.”

In closing, we discussed Bateman’s faith. He is devoted to his religion and his relationship with God. This young pitcher has been blessed so far in his life, but he takes nothing for granted. Bateman just wants to serve his beliefs and grow as a man and ballplayer. The sky is the limit for this young pitcher. In time, the whole MLB community may know the name Boston Bateman,

James Clark

James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. James has written about the Padres and their prospects for over a decade. He also writes about San Diego State as well as other local sports. James is the Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.