Red Sox Have New No. 1 Prospect According To Most Accurate Rankings

Boston has plenty to be excited about for the future

Scott Neville | Nov 23, 2023

Red Sox Have New No. 1 Prospect According To Most Accurate Rankings /

In this story:

Boston Red Sox

Much of former Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom's tenure was focused on drafting and developing top prospects to create a new wave of core players for the organization after a few down years.

Bloom was all about building a sustainable future. And while he did not do enough to make the big-league roster competitive, his long-term plans appear to be coming to fruition. Two of his highest-drafted players are competing hard for the top spot in the farm system and both are highly-promising players.

Outfielder Roman Anthony is the new No. 1 prospect in the organization according to Sox Prospects' latest rankings, supplanting shortstop Marcelo Mayer. The site is always ahead of national rankings, as it follows the team much closer and has much more accurate information.

Anthony was not in the conversation for the top prospect spot one year ago but had a meteoric rise in 2023. The 19-year-old hit .272 with 45 extra-base hits including 14 home runs, 64 RBIs and a .869 OPS in 106 games last season -- starting in Single-A Salem and working his way up to Double-A Portland.

Most impressively, his batting average and OPS increased at each level he was promoted to. Anthony is one of the youngest players in Double-A and will be followed closely next year. He could put himself on track for a debut before you know it.

Mayer's year did not go perfectly as planned but he still has all the makings of a future impact player for the Red Sox. Injuries partially derailed his season and he took a little more time to adjust to promotions than Anthony.

Still, Sox Prospects' Chris Hatfield acknowledged that this move was about Anthony's rise, not Mayer's fall.

Mayer hit .236 with 19 extra-base hits including seven home runs, 54 RBIs and a .739 OPS in 78 games between High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland. Unlike Anthony, Mayer's stats plummeted when he joined the Sea Dogs. Part of his decline was due to nagging injuries and he played stellar shortstop all the way through.

It will be interesting to watch the two star prospects compete at the same level next season for the Sea Dogs as the next Red Sox core starts to take shape.

More MLB: Blue Jays All-Star Reportedly Available; Red Sox Are Logical Trade Partners

Published Nov 23, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu