How ‘Big Three’ Prospects ‘Adopted’ 2024 Red Sox Play Style

WORCESTER, Mass. -- The Red Sox have watched new philosophies and styles trickle through their entire organization throughout the 2024 season.

That began in the offseason when chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and pitching coach Andrew Bailey set out to restructure the pitching development pipeline of Boston's system.

Once the season began, early injuries forced the Red Sox to find a new offensive identity to score runs. With a young, dynamic roster, Boston turned to its athleticism, choosing the right times to put runners in motion and pressure the defense with speed. Players like Jarren Duran and David Hamilton led from the front as efficient base-stealers.

That concept quickly made its way through the minors and hit home with the organization's top three prospects in Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel.

"We kind of took on the challenge this year to buy in on the basepaths," Mayer told reporters at Polar Park on Tuesday. "I know our Double-A manager (Chad Epperson) talked about it to go out every day and run as hard as you can on the basepaths. I think that's been something we've taken and ran with it. It's really helped us along. You see the big-league club, how they play and how hard they play."

Anthony immediately put that into practice upon the group's promotion to Triple-A Worcester and tallied a hustle double in his first at-bat for the WooSox on Tuesday night.

At the MLB level, the Red Sox have the second-most steals in the American League (115) as they continue to rely on youthful athletes to set the pace of the game any given night.