Why Red Sox Top Prospect Isn’t ‘Salty’ Over Lack Of Big League Callup

Roman Anthony isn’t getting impatient in Worcester, or at least, the top Red Sox prospect isn’t about to admit as much publicly.

The No. 1 prospect in baseball is major league-ready. That would have been difficult to argue after spring training, and Anthony has left no doubt through the first quarter of the season in Triple-A Worcester.

Despite a recent mini-slump, Anthony is hitting .316 with six home runs and 18 RBIs in 43 games. He also has eight doubles, a pair of triples, has drawn 39 walks and has a .959 OPS. When he makes contact, it’s usually in the middle of the barrel with an exit velocity that should make infielders duck.

Yet, when the Red Sox open a four-game series with Baltimore with a doubleheader Friday at Fenway, Anthony will be 45 miles west preparing for a doubleheader of his own with the Durham Bulls.

There’s still no direct path to Boston for Anthony — at least not without the Red Sox making a difficult decision on their current big league roster — but the 21-year-old doesn’t sound too stressed by his predicament.

“We joke about (when a callup might happen), and we make light of it,” Anthony told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. “And I think that’s the only way to kind of go about it. No reason to be salty. I get to play baseball here, regardless of what level I’m at. I get to play baseball every single day, so not really worried about it.

“I think when you start wondering too much and worrying too much about tomorrow or the next day or the next week, that’s when you sort of get yourself in trouble. So I think I’ve been off to a great start this year, just being where my feet are and enjoying it, enjoying this team, this staff and getting better every day.”

At the least, Anthony is able to control the narrative at a big league level.

When he gets a chance to show off the rest of his game in the bigs remains up in the air. The Red Sox are gearing up for a pretty significant weekend series. The Orioles have been awful this season, and the inconsistent Sox could get on the right track by adding to Baltimore’s misery.

But if Boston can’t take advantage of the slumping Birds, it might be time to start thinking about shaking up the roster, and calling on Anthony would certainly be a good place to start.