Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox's No. 1 Prospect Marcelo Mayer Shows Off Clutch Gene With Walk-Off Hit

Boston has a franchise-altering player coming up the pipeline

Scott Neville

Red Sox's No. 1 Prospect Marcelo Mayer Shows Off Clutch Gene With Walk-Off Hit
Red Sox's No. 1 Prospect Marcelo Mayer Shows Off Clutch Gene With Walk-Off Hit /
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Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has arguably invested more into the organization's top prospect than any individual player -- you could make the case for superstar Rafael Devers but he was well-established when the executive arrived and his recent contract needed to happen. 

Bloom has been banking on the crop of young prospects to prove that his strategy of building a sustainable pipeline from within is the key to success. Shortstop Marcelo Mayer -- the No. 4 pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft -- needs to become a core player for his plan to work. 

Fortunately, it appears that Mayer does have the necessary tools to become a star and we might be able to add clutch to the list.

With a man on second and two out in the bottom of the 10th inning of a tied ballgame, Mayer laced a ground ball between first and second base to secure a win for High-A Greenville.

The 20-year-old phenom has yet to struggle in the minors for more than a few weeks at a time and continues to look the part as the organization's top prospect and MLB Pipeline's No. 5 prospect in all of baseball. 

Mayer is hitting .319 with 15 extra-base hits including four home runs, 26 RBIs and a .926 OPS in 27 games this season. The shortstop of the future essentially averaging an RBI per game to pair with a high average and solid pop is everything the Red Sox should be looking for from an offensive perspective.

It would not be far-fetched for the Red Sox to promote Mayer to Double-A Portland before the All-Star break, which would put him on the fast track to a big league debut. Until then, Mayer will keep raking in High-A while developing all aspects of his game -- including his ability to remain calm in the clutch, as he did Thursday night.

More MLB: Unheralded Red Sox Prospect Leads Organization In Home Runs Amid Breakout Season

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Scott Neville
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

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