FORT MYERS, Fla. — Justin Riemer went shopping with his mother and girlfriend right after the Red Sox drafted him in June.
“The first thing we did was we went to the mall and got me a Red Sox hat,” Riemer told MassLive at Boston’s Fall Performance Program at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers in September. “So that was something I’ll remember forever.
“A few days before the draft, I was like, ‘Hey, if I get drafted, we’re going straight to Lids. I’ve got to get a hat,’” Riemer added.
The Red Sox received the 133rd overall pick as compensation for starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi signing with the Rangers in free agency last offseason. They used the fourth round selection to draft Riemer, a 21-year-old shortstop/second baseman out of Wright State.
$200 INSTANT BONUS
DRAFTKINGS MASS
BET $5, GET $200 BONUS BET
FANDUEL MASS
BET $50, GET $250 BONUS
CAESARS MASS
$1,000 FIRST-BET BONUS
BETMGM MASS
MA only. 21+. Gambling Problem? If you or a loved one is experiencing problems with gambling, please call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org for 24/7 support. LiveChat with a GameSense Advisor at GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234
MA Gambling Helpline.
The MLB.com broadcast thought Riemer had a chance to be drafted on Day 1. He might have dropped because he tore his ACL in March, 12 games into his redshirt sophomore season. At the time, he was batting .323 (10-for-31) with a .563 on-base percentage, three homers, one double, 12 runs, seven RBIs, three steals, 15 walks and just two strikeouts.
“It could have gone either way,” Riemer said when asked if he thought he would have been drafted higher if not for the injury. “I’m not sure if I’m being honest. Most of all, it was just a disappointment I couldn’t play the rest of the season with my guys back at Wright State.
“I knew that the best thing that I could do for myself was just start working to get healthy and whatever was going to come from the draft would come from the draft. And fortunate enough, I got very lucky.”
Riemer reported to Fort Myers immediately after signing to resume his rehab there.
“Although the ACL was a tough thing to happen, I think it was a blessing in disguise,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot from it. Just handling adversity and things like that. I think going through an injury and a long rehab process like this just will really toughen my mental side of the game, which is really something I’ve been trying to work on a lot. So I’m looking forward to taking that new mental strength into my actual game.”
He hopes he’ll be ready to go when spring training camp opens.
“The start of spring training is something that we’re shooting for,” Riemer said. “As of right now (September), I’ve been progressing well. So we’re still shooting for that beginning of spring training.”
Riemer, his girlfriend and mom also went out to dinner to celebrate after their trip to Lids. He said his girlfriend wears her Red Sox hat “all the time.”
“She’s a big supporter,” Riemer said.
Riemer drew 46 walks and struck out only 14 times in 56 games (233 plate appearances) at Wright State. He finished his collegiate career with a 19.7% walk percentage and 6% strikeout rate.
“In college, I really focused on making contact and hard contact as much as I could,” he said. “My focus would always be to try to hit line drives over the infielders’ heads and then react from there.”
Riemer puts a lot of importance on swing decisions, pitch selection and controlling the strike zone.
“We’ve had a lot of meetings on hitting philosophy, which I’ve really enjoyed hearing about,” Riemer said. “Their whole hitting philosophy here, I think it’s brilliant. So I’ve really been trying to sit in on as many meetings as I can and go watch guys work in the cages since I can’t swing yet.”
Riemer — who is the only member of his immediate family to play baseball beyond Little League — was drafted as a shortstop. He played both shortstop and second base at Wright State.
“I would say I’m very fundamentally strong,” Riemer said. “I was working a lot on arm strength and stuff like that my last few years in college. So those were starting to tick up. And that’s going to be something I continue to work on. But I would definitely say I am pretty fundamentally sound out there.”
Riemer is from Arlington, Va., just outside of Washington D.C.
“I spent a lot of time at Nationals Park growing up when I was a kid,” he said. “(Anthony) Rendon back when he was on the Nats during some of those playoff teams was a lot of fun. Ian Desmond was a lot of fun to watch play shortstop for some of those Nats teams that started getting good.”
Riemer was only 3 years old when the Nationals moved from Montreal to D.C. in 2005 but he remembers watching Felipe López who played infield for Washington from 2006-08.
“Over the past at least five or six years, it’s been (Francisco) Lindor who I’ve looked at,” Riemer said. “He’s just a really good hitter, really good in the field, all around. My favorite part about him is how much he loves playing the game. So I’ve looked up to him for that because of just how much I enjoy it, too. So that’s somebody I always look to.”
The 6-foot, 170 pounder enjoys spending as much time as he can outdoors. Bouldering is one of his favorite activities outside of baseball.
“It’s rock climbing but it’s shorter faces that are a little more difficult and you don’t have the harness because it’s shorter and you’ve got a mat underneath you,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed. And it works on grip strength so that’s always good for baseball.”
Other stories from Red Sox’s Fall Performance Program
‘Muscular’ Red Sox C prospect has ‘5 hole’ power, cool reason for catching
Top Red Sox prospect with ‘best’ fastball (98 mph) studies Justin Verlander
New Red Sox OF prospect beat cancer, cousin ‘saved’ his life with tackle
Red Sox prospect up to 97 mph ‘motivated’ by mentor Brayan Bello, ex-roomie
Red Sox power-hitting C prospect read Ted Williams’ book ‘a million times’
