Keith Law Names Four Red Sox In Latest Top 60 Prospects List

The Red Sox’ farm system is in a solid spot as of late with Marcelo Mayer, Ceddanne Rafaela and Roman Anthony all finding their footing in their respective developments.

On Friday, Keith Law of The Athletic released his updated Top 60 Prospects list. Law included four Boston prospects, including recently-signed first-round pick Kyle Teel, on the list.

Mayer was ranked third, Anthony at No. 45, Rafaela at No. 48 and the first-rounder Teel at No. 50.

Infielder Brainer Bonaci, who is currently with Low-A Salem, also received an honorable mention.

Here is what Law had to say about each of the four Red Sox on his list:

Marcelo Mayer
Mayer also moved up to Double A this year at a decrepit 20 years of age, after hitting .290/.366/.524 for High-A Greenville in 35 games to start the season. He’s a true shortstop who’s a plus defender there already and could end up there more depending on how his body develops. I’d be shocked if he would up moving to another position, although I know some scouts think he might end up at third base, which could be a Gunnar Henderson situation (very good at short, elite at third). Wherever he plays, Mayer can hit and already is showing close to plus power, with everything better this year now that the wrist injuries from 2022 are in the rearview mirror. It’s a beautiful left-handed swing with excellent bat speed, and he is driving the ball better to all fields this year as well. He projects as a 25-30 homer guy with strong OBPs, which will play regardless of where he is on the dirt.

Roman Anthony
The Red Sox took Anthony in the second round in 2022 out of Marjory Stoneman Dogulas High School in Florida, moving him to Low A to start 2023. He hit just .220/.376/.317 at that level, but the Red Sox were so pleased with his batted-ball data that they promoted him to High A, where he’s hitting .338/.484/.770 in 21 games with 8 homers already, so I’m going to say that promotion was probably a good call. Anthony has a great baseball body and a powerful swing that, as you might have inferred, produces strong exit velocities even though he hasn’t filled out physically yet, and he’s shown much better pitch recognition and zone awareness in pro ball than it seemed like he had in showcases and tournaments as an amateur. I wrote that ‘if he’s that much more advanced a hitter than the industry though, the Red Sox got a steal.’ Guess what? The Red Sox got a steal.

Ceddanne Rafaela

Rafaela is one of the best defensive center fielders anywhere in the minors, a plus runner with superb instincts who continues to show sneaky 55 power even though he’s pretty light for a 22-year-old. He’s overly aggressive at the plate, and that’s burned him in his brief time so far this year in Triple A, where he’s walked once with 18 Ks in 72 plate appearances because he’s chasing stuff out if the zone that he could hit at lower levels but not there. There’s such a high floor here with the defense and power; Kevin Kiermaier has played 11 years and been worth over 30 rWAR with a career .310 OBP because of his defense and has no more power than Rafaela does. If the Curacao native can focus on swinging at strikes, that kind of career is within reach.

Kyle Teel
Teel was the best catcher in this year’s loaded draft class, a very athletic backstop who caught and hit well for UVA this spring in one of the best conferences in college baseball. He has outstanding bat speed and pitch recognition, rarely striking out for the Cavs in 2023 (12 percent), making line-drive contact and hitting for power against right-handers. He’s very agile behind the plate with a 60 arm and good hands, needing work on framing and handling pitches below the zone, although there’s no doubt he stays at catcher for the long term. He doesn’t hit lefties for any power, at least not so far in a small sample, which is probably his one area for work as a hitter. I think he’s at least a regular with a chance to be a Jason Kendall type of hitter, with high contact rates and some value from speed along with modest power.

The honorable mention in Bonaci is having a solid season in Salem, slashing .292/.352/.498 in 49 games for High-A Greenville.

Mayer continues to grow in Portland, Rafaela is on a power surge in Worcester and Teel enters the organization with a bright future ahead.