Red Sox’ ‘Big 3’ prospects are one step away from Fenway Park with Triple-A promotion
Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, and Kyle Teel were the stars of the show on Tuesday afternoon. The Red Sox “Big 3” were on display in front of the Boston and WooSox media following their promotion to Triple-A Worcester.
All three sat in front of a room full of reporters, all together one step away from living out their dreams and becoming big leaguers.
“It’s a dream come true,” Teel said Tuesday ahead of his Triple-A debut at Polar Park. “I’m so grateful. It just shows the hard work is paying off. And the important thing is to keep developing, keep working hard every day, and to be with these guys every day.
“It’s awesome. On the field, we have fun playing the game together and competing. And then off the field, we hang out, and we’re great buddies as well.”
With high expectations for these three players and immense pressure on their shoulders, two of them made their debuts on the field on Tuesday night.
Anthony and Teel were in the starting lineup, while Mayer is still dealing with lower back and glute issues. WooSox skipper Chad Tracy told reporters pregame that Mayer will miss more time this week as he gets back into regular baseball activities.
Anthony shined in his debut; he went 3-for-4 at the plate and roped in a double in Worcester’s 4-3 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Tuesday. Teel, batting fifth in the lineup, went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts.
"I honestly am very confident with where I'm at at the plate," Teel said postgame in front of his locker in the WooSox clubhouse. "It's one of those days that doesn't make a difference to me. I'm gonna go out there tomorrow, and nothing changes. Keep your head down and keep working hard."
Teel utilized the ABS challenge system to his advantage, winning all three challenges—two behind the plate and one as a hitter.
“It's great," Teel said. "I wish I used a few more. It was my first time using it. I was a little conservative. I wanted to be careful and make sure they were going to go my way."
"It definitely gives you an advantage. At the plate, especially, you make a good take,” Teel continued. “That's a hard thing to do. You practice taking those pitches. It pays off more when you can challenge. As a catcher, it's great, too. Say you make a bad move on a pitch and he calls it a ball, you can still challenge it and get the pitch back. It's great both ways on offense and defense."
Tracy doesn’t necessarily expect a seamless transition for the three as they move from Portland to Worcester.
“It’s big. I think the experience here—the strike zone changes... it gets smaller. But the quality of the stuff, the experience on the mound—all those things change,” Tracy said of the elevated competition found in Worcester. “You’re playing against guys that have big-league experience—have that savvy about them. I’ve told all three of the kids, this is finishing school now, right?
"Like, you’re talented. You go through A-ball and Double-A, and your talent carries you. This is where you have to start thinking, along with the pitcher, they’re going to be able to execute things that they can’t in Double-A—all those little things. And then the jump from here to the big leagues is just as big, if not bigger.”
With Fenway Park 45 miles away from Polar Park, the “Big 3” will continue to tackle all challenges in front of them together.
“For me, I was always taught to play to win,” Mayer said. “So for me, that kind of takes all the pressure away. … I always kind of make this joke nowadays—there’s Perfect Game, all these ranking websites. So I’ve been ranked since I was like five years old. So you kind of grow up with that pressure. So it’s kind of nothing new.”
“I think we’re just having fun, the three of us,” Anthony added. “We just like to have fun. It’s the same game we’ve been playing since we were five years old. So nothing really changes. Obviously, as you go up, there’s more expectation and more cameras, as we can see right now, but nothing changes. We’re just gonna go out there and have fun and continue to play the game the right way, and everything else will take care of itself.”
Anthony and Teel looked sharp in their debuts, and the talent these two players have is undeniable. Once Mayer gets a clean bill of health, the trio will continue their journey to Boston. For now, fans at Polar Park will get to watch the future of the Red Sox for the remainder of the season.
