New Ranking Could Give Elite Red Sox Prospect Bulletin-Board Material
The Red Sox are set to head down to Fort Myers, Fla., for spring training, which means a new round of prospect rankings dropped.
Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell are the talk of Boston’s farm system and for good reason. However, it seems like one renowned baseball writer forgot about Marcelo Mayer.
Mayer earned reasonable ranks from Baseball America (No. 15) and ESPN (No. 4). But The Athletic’s Keith Law had the infielder at No. 28. That’s a wide discrepancy from others. Law did explain why he ranked the 22-year-old so low.
“Mayer looked like he was on track to be the top prospect in baseball around midyear, but he got hurt yet again, with his last game in 2024 coming on July 30, further underscoring his history of missing time with injuries,” Law wrote this week. “… He’s a strong athlete and has the arm and hands to be a plus defender, flashing that range at times but needing to be more consistent on routine plays. He murders fastballs, with the bat speed to catch up to top-end velocity, while offspeed stuff gave him more trouble than ever in 2024.
“… More concerning is that Mayer has yet to play in 100 games in a pro season, topping out at 91 in 2022, missing time due to a lumbar strain (2024), shoulder inflammation (2023), a sprained wrist (2022), and ‘back issues’ (2022). He’s 22 now and still has superstar potential — a 30-homer shortstop with plus defense and what should be above-average OBPs is going to be the best player on his team in most cases. He has to show he can play 140 games in a year and get back to hitting offspeed stuff to be that kind of prospect again.”
Mayer hasn’t shied away from his injury history and is committed to making sure he can be a reliable player when he hits the big leagues.
The 2021 first-round pick always is locked in, and Law’s ranking could end up becoming bulletin-board material for the upcoming Triple-A Worcester season. A successful year could make Law regret his ranking which only would benefit the Red Sox.