The Boston Red Sox boast one of the premier farm systems in the sport. Their prospects are playing like it through the first month of the 2024 season.
The Portland Sea Dogs (AA) have worlds of talent and consistently rack up wins in the Eastern League. Elsewhere in the system, a number of prospects made serious noise over the first month of play, adding more depth to a talented system and keeping attention across each level of the minor leagues.
With April in the books, let’s take a look at some Red Sox prospects who made a statement to start the season.
Big Three Update
Whether it be the Red Sox themselves or any media outlet, it’s no secret that the future of the ballclub surrounds the eventual arrival of Roman Anthony, Kyle Teel and Marcelo Mayer.
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The top three prospects in the Red Sox system began the season in Double-A Portland and all had reasons to start a motivated campaign. A nagging shoulder injury made for a forgettable 2023 for Mayer while Anthony and Teel had just two weeks of Double-A at-bats to close out the year.
All three are progressing through the opening month to varying degrees, a welcomed sight for Red Sox fans.
Mayer plays a capable shortstop and his approach seems to be back at the plate. Entering Friday, Mayer sported a .301 average with a .807 OPS with a pair of home runs and 12 RBI. The infielder tallied his first walk-off hit of the season as well at Hadlock Field during the opening month. Red Sox manager Alex Cora had high regard for Mayer during the Spring Breakout Game, tabbing him as an unofficial leader of the group. Mayer certainly has the most to prove out of the three this season. So far, so good for the No. 4 pick in the 2021 MLB Draft.
Anthony’s developing power and patented plate approach, which gained rave reviews from Triston Casas, set him up for an intriguing start to the year. His strikeout numbers have been up, leading the team as of Friday, which may be slightly concerning. The Red Sox outfield prospect also slugged a pair of home runs and he’s still taking his walks, leading the Sea Dogs in that category as well. Anthony patrols center field for now, though his fit in the Red Sox outfield eventually will be fluid given the athletes at the major-league level.
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Teel had the best chance to debut eventually in 2024 based on the status of Boston’s catching situation. Since then, Connor Wong and Reese McGuire have statistically been one of the top offensive tandems in the sport, so we’ll see what that means for Teel in a few months.
For now, the No. 14 pick from last year’s draft has been making better contact in recent weeks, most notably driving in four runs with a pair of extra-base hits on Wednesday. The Red Sox could see Teel eventually this season if his work behind the plate and offensive damage continue.
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Rising Stars
– Kristian Campbell (High-A)
Boston’s 2023 fourth-round pick from Georgia Tech is doing serious damage for the Greenville Drive. Over half of his hits have been for extra bases, including four homers entering Friday. The versatile Red Sox prospect consistently hits the ball hard and has been on a total power surge during the first series of May, including a 4-for-4 night with a walk on Thursday night.
Campbell flirts with a 1.000 OPS to start the month after initial season struggles, giving the Red Sox an early reward from his selection last summer.
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– Matthew Lugo (Double-A)
Lugo has been the ultimate RBI machine in the Red Sox system this season. Among all the previously mentioned talent in the Portland lineup, Lugo truly stands out thus far. He homered for the sixth time this season on Friday night.
The left fielder is slugging .807 (!!!) to start the season, hitting .351 with a 1.238 OPS. His consistent production keeps strengthening his stock just weeks before his 23rd birthday. The Red Sox already have a crowded outfield in Boston and several talented prospects in the system. Nonetheless, there’s going to be value with Lugo if this hot start keeps up.
– Johanfran Garcia (Low-A)
Teel is talented, but he’s not the only catcher smashing the ball.
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Garcia has been fantastic to begin 2024, adding pop for the Salem Red Sox along with another emerging bat in his brother, Jhostynxon (1.001 OPS in 11 games).
Garcia leads the team with a .385 average and a 1.062 OPS to start 2024. The catcher did suffer a leg injury on Wednesday, so his progress may be put on hold depending on the duration of his absence.
Keep An Eye On…
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– Chase Meidroth (Triple-A)
Meidroth doesn’t hit for a ton of power, but he gets on-base and then some. He posts a .455 OBP to be exact. His versatile defense could be useful to the Red Sox in the near future, especially given the volume of infield roster moves in recent weeks.
– Richard Fitts (Triple-A)
The primary pitching return in the Alex Verdugo trade is off to a solid start with Worcester. Over his first five starts, he struck out 24 hitters with just seven walks. Should the Red Sox seek depth, he may make sense for a spot start in 2024.
– Zach Penrod (Double-A)
Opponents are hitting just .188 against Penrod through four starts in Portland, going 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA. The stuff is intriguing and the Red Sox may have their next
– Hunter Dobbins (Double-A)
Dobbins seems to be under discussed while consistently putting together solid starts over the last two seasons. The Red Sox pitching prospect posted a 3.67 ERA. His fastball velocity gets up to 97 mph and he nearly matched his season strikeout total with eight punch-outs on Friday night.
Featured image via Chris Cameron
