Roman Anthony heckled and called ‘overrated’; belts homer, Mayer and Campbell go deep in loss
I’d have to imagine there’s nothing better for a professional athlete who’s being heckled by a fan than to do something on the field to quickly shut them up.
Red Sox top prospect Roman Anthony did just that during the Spring Breakout game versus the Rays on Thursday night. A heckler in the crowd chanted “overrated” a handful of times throughout the game, but it was Anthony who got the last laugh.
The No. 2 prospect in the game, according to Baseball America, hit an absolute missile over the right field wall that traveled 434 feet, according to MLB Network’s broadcast.
“Yeah, it’s not the first time I’ve heard that this spring. It’s always funny, but that’s part of it,” Anthony said. “I think so; if they’re saying something, it’s always a good thing if you’re relevant.”
“That’s definitely not the first time; it’s happened a couple of times in Triple-A,” Kristian Campbell added. Marcelo Mayer called the moment “sick.”
All three top prospects homered in the game, with Campbell and Mayer going back-to-back in the top of the third inning.
Campbell squared the ball up and took a 96 mph fastball from Rays prospect Trevor Harrison the opposite way for a two-run blast that was followed by Mayer golfing one over the right field wall.
“Most of my power is gap to gap, middle part of the field,” Campbell said. “I just try to hit the ball hard and in the air, and good things happen.”
Connelly Early got the start, tossing three innings, allowing two unearned runs off three hits while walking one with two strikeouts. The southpaw highlighted his fastball, which has now seen an uptick in velocity, touching 96 mph.
A big part of his velocity change has been his added work in the weight room.
“In the fall we focused on pull downs and throwing workload as well as strength training in the weight room," said Early. "Once I got home, I started mixing in bullpens so my lifting changed to a more speed and power focus to move weight fast. I had a few lower body movements that I needed to fine-tune to be more efficient in my body moving down the mound. I tracked my workload while I was at home to maximize my high days and also allow adequate rest on my recovery days. During the dead period, the Red Sox weren’t allowed to contact me, but prior to leaving the offseason program down in Fort Myers, I had a meeting to go over where I needed to be coming into camp in January."
His changeup played well off his fastball, including his sweeper, which he used to strike out Rays power-hitting prospect Bob Seymour.
Mikey Romero had two hits, going 2-for-4 with a double and a strikeout. Brooks Brannon had an RBI single in the seventh inning that scored Miguel Bleis.
The Rays defeated the Red Sox, 7-5.
A glance at 4 Red Sox prospects ahead of the Spring Breakout game; starting pitcher and lineup inside
Red Sox fans will get to watch the organization's top prospects and future stars on Thursday night when they participate in the Spring Breakout game on the road against the Rays.