Roman Anthony is focused on working to become better defensively, faster and stronger
When the Red Sox drafted outfielder Roman Anthony, they knew he was a tremendous athlete. As the teenage prospect shot through the system this summer, he is looking like a franchise cornerstone plater.
Anthony displayed his power and offensive approach, batting .272 with 27 doubles, four triples, 14 homers, 64 RBIs, 16 stolen bases with an .869 OPS.
While the 19-year-old is very proud of his offensive numbers, his defensive approach is just as important to him.
“A lot of people obviously, they look at the hitting side more than they do the defensive side,” said Anthony of the To the Show We Go Podcast. “I think that's just how it is in baseball now. But for me, going into the year, defense was just as important to me and going into spring training, I was trying to learn as much as I can.”
Anthony likes to think of himself as an all-around player, rather than a slugger-first.
“I just tried to take pride in, being as good as I can out there and centerfield and, trying to stick in, centerfield as long as I can,” said Anthony. “I am trying to become faster and stronger so I can become a better outfielder, continue to get a better arm, just grow at that position.”
This winter Anthony expects to work on developing more physically, getting stronger, faster and quicker to make him an overall better player. The Red Sox top prospect is not a finished product and he knows that.
“I’ve learned a ton, I’ve been to three different levels now and experienced my first spring training so it’s been an awesome year,” Anthony said. “It’s definitely something I’ll look back on when its the offseason and be like wow, it’s definitely a special year but there’s a lot of work to be done.”
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