Marcelo Mayer Reminds Collectors He’s Still Elite
As spring training has pushed on, fans and collectors are getting extended looks at some of the younger prospects that might be making their debuts sometime during the season. Coming into spring training the Red Sox had several hyped prospects that collectors and fans were excited about. Their top prospects were being called the big three (formerly four prior to Kyle Teel being traded as part of the Garrett Crochet trade) by fans and media alike. Included in that group are the much hyped Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell but I wanted to focus on the third and occasionally forgotten member of the group Marcelo Mayer.
Taken fourth overall by the Sox, Mayer was widely considered to be the one of the top players if not the top player overall in the 2021 MLB Draft. Likewise when he made his Topps product debut in Bowman draft 2021 he was also the top chase for collectors. Mayer got off to a good start during his first full season in professional baseball ending the season on many top ten prospect list. Since then Mayer has had some ups and downs that have affected his prospect status amongst ranking sites, fans and collectors. Mainly, Mayer was dealing with injuries that prematurely ended his seasons in two of the past three years. In 2023 Mayer suffered an injury to his shoulder that clearly derailed what was shaping up to be a great season for him. Likewise, after having a great bounce back season last year, his season was again cut short after experiencing a lumbar strain just prior to his promotion to AAA. In what appeared to me to be an overly cautious move by the Sox, Mayer was shut down for the season before he could take a triple A at bat.
Those injury setbacks did affect his standing in some prospect ranking circles (and in my opinion, to a bit of an unfair extent). That said, Collectors and fans like myself started looking to spring training to see how Mayer would do with an invite to big league camp. So far Mayer has not disappointed. Mayer has hit exceptionally well maintaining his elite exit velocity while also showing position versatility getting reps and second and third along with his natural short shop position. In fact, I feel confident in saying that had Mayer had at bats at AAA he would have a legitimate shot at making the Red Sox opening day roster. As for his hobby market it has remained somewhat strong. His most recent sales of base and refractor autos have been in the $250-400 range graded for PSA 10 and BGS 9.5. Also a recent raw base auto sold for $220 per 130 point.
Going forward the next step for Mayer is to show that he can go a full season without any major injuries. Personally I feel that goal is more than realistic. I still anticipate big things from Mayer and collectors should too. I know some might say I’m biased because I’m a Red Sox and they’ve got a point. But just because I’m biased doesn’t mean I’m wrong.
