Marcelo Mayer 'doesn't really give a shit' about prospect rankings; Has eyes set on Fenway Park
The Portland Sea Dogs offense are first in the Eastern League in runs scored, hits, doubles, RBIs, batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS.
Marcelo Mayer is first in the Eastern League in runs scored, doubles, and batting average.
It’s safe to say that on top of having a great season in the batter’s box, Mayer is also having a lot of fun in the process.
“It has been awesome,” Mayer said of the first half of the season. “It has been a great vibe every single day in the clubhouse. It has been a really fun season and as a group we get along super well. I always say it feels like a travel ball team just because of how much fun we have on and off the field.”
It sure does help having more fun on the field when you are surrounded by many other top prospects in all of baseball. Just about in all of the publications around baseball, the Sea Dogs have Mayer, Roman Anthony, Kyle Teel, and now Kristian Campbell in the top 100 prospects in the game.
“I think everyone here sees the prospect rankings but to be honest, I don’t really give a shit about the rankings,” Mayer said. “The biggest thing for me is getting to the big leagues. When you are a big leaguer, nobody cares about what your ranking was when you were in the minor leagues. I don’t really focus on it, but it is an honor to be ranked that high, but it’s not something I put much thought into.”
Although Mayer may not care about who is ranked where or who is slotted above him or below him, he does know that the group surrounding him is super talented. Surprisingly, he feels no pressure trying to keep up with the offensive performances around him.
“It doesn’t really factor into myself,” Mayer said of teammates pushing him. “I am only worried about myself in the batter’s box. I know we have a super talented lineup, so it takes some pressure off of me as a hitter knowing I have Roman in front of me, Teel after me, and Campbell after him. It is not really something I am worried about. I just try to go have good at-bats and whatever happens, happens. We have an incredibly talented lineup from 1-9, it’s pretty impressive to watch every night.”
While the offensive numbers speak for themselves with Portland each and every night, what about the defense?
The Red Sox big league club have shown in previous years just how tough it is to win games when you have poor defense, especially up the middle of the field. They saw just how much Trevor Story was missed last season with his glove alone at shortstop.
What does Mayer think of his own defense?
“The biggest thing as a shortstop is you have to make the routine plays,” Mayer said. “Making the flashy play is cool and all, but the biggest thing is making that routine play for the pitcher and helping the team win. I think I have made too many errors and had a bad two week stretch this year. For me, the biggest thing is helping the pitcher out and guiding the team to more wins.”
A call to Triple-A Worcester is in the near future for Mayer and a couple of his other teammates in Portland. Who is he looking forward to playing with again in Worcester?
“There is a few guys I could think of but Chase Meidroth is definitely one of them,” Mayer said. “He is one of my best friends in the organization and we live together during spring training, and he is also a Southern California guy. We workout together in the offseason so we really got close. I haven’t seen him in person in a while but we facetime all the time and talk about baseball and life. I can’t wait to see him soon. I loved playing with Niko Kavadas, Nathan Hickey, and Nick Yorke. I worked out with Mark Contreras in the offseason, and he is a great guy. I can’t wait to be there one day, hopefully soon.
