In the latest evidence of the Red Sox having one of baseball's top farm systems, four Boston prospects earned spots on MLB Pipeline's updated Top 100 rankings.
That's the same number of prospects who landed on Baseball America's list but one fewer than on The Athletic's rankings, which surprisingly included Yoeilin Cespedes in the No. 97 spot. Like Baseball America (but unlike Keith Law), MLB Pipeline ranked Los Angeles Dodgers phenom Roki Sasaki first overall.
Here are the four Red Sox prospects who landed on MLB Pipeline's list:
No. 2: OF Roman Anthony
No. 7: 2B Kristian Campbell
No. 12: SS Marcelo Mayer
No. 76: SS Franklin Arias
Let's look at what MLB Pipeline wrote about each player.
Anthony: "Anthony's advanced swing decisions, quick stroke and growing strength allow him to make more consistent contact and generate higher exit velocities than most players his age. He pulled the ball with more authority than ever in 2024, though he won't fully tap into his plus-plus raw power until he lifts pitches more regularly. He could become a .300 hitter who provides 30 homers and ranks among the league leaders in walks on an annual basis."
Campbell: "Campbell looks like an entirely different hitter than he did in college, trading a bit of contact to do a lot more damage with a more aggressive right-handed stroke that allows him to hit balls harder and launch them in the air more frequently. He controls the strike zone, handling left-handers and right-handers equally well while driving the ball to all fields. There may be even more power to be had if he can continue to reduce his groundball rate, which was still higher than most last year at 43 percent (compared to 56 percent at Georgia Tech)."
Mayer: "Mayer has a fluid left-handed stroke and makes decent swing decisions, though he's been more aggressive at the plate and sought more power as he has gotten stronger. He stands out with his bat speed and exit velocities and has improved his ability to drive pitches to his pull side, though a propensity to make ground-ball contact may cap his power output at 20-25 homers per year. He still needs to make adjustments against non-fastballs (1.019 OPS against heaters in 2024, .690 vs. everything else) and same-side pitchers (.896 OPS against righties, .674 vs. lefties)."
Arias: "Arias makes advanced swing decisions for a teenager and repeated contact with a simple right-handed stroke. As they have with several of their top prospects, the Red Sox have helped him add strength and bat speed, and he did a better job of driving balls to his pull side during his U.S. debut. He could hit for average, draw a healthy amount of walks and provide 15-20 homers per year."
Campbell and Anthony are candidates to make Boston's opening day roster, whereas Mayer probably will begin the campaign in Triple-A after a back injury ended his promising 2024 season in late July.
Arias, 19, hasn't played above Low-A and likely is at least a season or two away from big-league consideration.
More MLB: This Hard-Throwing Red Sox Prospect 'Just Missed' Baseball America Top 100
English (US) ·