GREENVILLE, S.C. – With a record-setting signing bonus comes record-setting expectations. Or at least that's probably the way it may feel at times to Yoan Moncada, a 19-year-old whose mention is inseparable from the notion that the Red Sox paid him $31.5 million (and spent $63 million overall) to have him join their organization.
And so, perhaps, it came as little surprise that after his 0-for-3 debut (in which he reached on an error and walked) on Monday, Moncada looked like a player who felt like he had something to prove. The weight of that responsibility showed for much of Tuesday's contest. Others could see it.
"I empathize with him. I'm 19 years old," said Greenville first baseman Nick Longhi, a 2013 30th-round selection who signed for a $440,000 bonus. "He's from a different country. He signed for a lot of money. That's a lot of pressure on a 19-year-old kid. I don't know if a lot of people realize that. A lot of people are like, 'Hey, get up and go hit a home run.' There's a little more to it than that. I was nervous when I first signed. I can't imagine what he's feeling."
Moncada was fooled by a changeup and struck out on a check-swing batting lefthanded in the first, flew to center (still batting lefthanded) on a first-pitch fastball in the third, swung and missed twice en route to a strikeout on a breaking ball while batting righthanded in the fourth, and had a groundout to third for his first RBI in the fifth. That left him 0 for 7 with a pair of punchouts.
And then, finally, the reprieve arrived. Once again batting lefthanded against righthander Evan Beal, he swung at a 91-mile-per-hour first-pitch fastball on the hands and cued the ball down the third base line. He beat the throw by plenty, and the ball immediately was sent out of the game for authentication by MLB officials.
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Perhaps he took a deep breath. Other members of the Greenville Drive took one on his behalf, hopeful that now — with his first hit, first runs, first RBI, and even first errors (Moncada committed a throwing error on Tuesday, his second in as many nights), the teenager can now settle into the routine of playing and developing.
"I'm sure he's got as high a standard for himself as anybody there is," said Greenville manager Darren Fenster. "[Monday] night, he didn't get that first hit. He goes through a few at-bats tonight and doesn't get it, so, lucky that he's got that monkey off his back.
"Hopefully he's got a couple games under his belt and now he can relax a little bit, kind of just go out and play, get in tune with the routine we have here, get in line with everyone else who's been doing a great job, and get himself comfortable. Once he's at that point where all the outside factors are kind of thrown by the wayside a little bit and he can concentrate on playing baseball now, he could take off."
Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him on twitter at @alexspeier.