Red Sox to promote top prospect Marcelo Mayer to Double-A Portland on Tuesday
The Red Sox will promote top prospect Marcelo Mayer to Double-A Portland on Tuesday, per The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.
Mayer, the Sox No. 4 overall draft pick back in 2021 received the good news of his promotion on Sunday.
The 20-year-old shortstop has been on fire hitting .290 with a .366 on base, .524 slugging, .890 OPS, 42 hits, 23 runs, 11 doubles, one triple, seven homers, 34 RBIs and five stolen bases.
The Chula Vista, Calif. native is regarding by most major publications as the Sox’ No. 1 prospect. Baseball America has ranked him recently as high as the No. 12 overall prospect in baseball and fifth-overall by MLB Pipeline.
While Mayer is still levels away from being at Fenway Park with the Red Sox, Chaim Bloom acknowledged his prospects performances are grabbing everyone’s attention.
“He’s playing a good shortstop, and inside the clubhouse, he’s the guy everyone gravitates to,” Bloom told NESN’s Tom Caron on the “TC and Company” podcast last week. “He’s just continuing to show all those special qualities when we drafted him. Obviously it’s something we talk about all of the time. The good thing about him is he has his feet planted where he is. He’s there to win and dominate whatever level he’s at, but it’s hard not to take notice of what he’s doing.”
The jump from Greenville to Double-A Portland is the next step in his development with the Sox. Bloom has the confidence that Mayer will transition appropriately.
“Even before the results, a lot of the under-the-surface things were really good, and now the results have been there,” Bloom told Caron.
“There’s always this balance to make sure you’re not moving a guy too quickly versus not letting him stagnate, but the fact of the matter is he’s been one of the better hitters in the minor leagues and doing it at an age when very few guys perform at that level.”
Mayer is focused on taking the right steps as he elevates through the Sox system. While he wants to be a big leaguer in the near future, he’s focused on contributing and showcasing his talents wherever he is assigned.
“For me, I’m going out there and playing and I’m being where my feet are,” Mayer told Speier in late April. “I’m not really going to be thinking about Fenway when I’m in Portland. If I’m in Portland, I’m thinking about being in Portland.
“Obviously, my goal is to be a big leaguer. I want to be there as soon as possible,” he added. “There’s a lot of great players in this organization. So it’s not as easy as just saying, ‘Oh, I want to be in the big-leagues this year.’ But I’m really excited. I worked my tail off in the offseason. I’m super excited for this season.”
The 6-foot-2, 182 pound standout will join the Sea Dogs for their upcoming series in New Jersey against the Somerset Patriots (Yankees’ Double-A affiliate). He will make his debut at Hadlock Field on June 6.
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