January’s arrival can imply just one factor round these components: it is time to rank minor-league prospects. Each staff throughout the majors is promoting hope to their followers: some are promoting it in a extra rapid style, within the type of lively offseasons filled with free-agent signings and commerce acquisitions. Others, in the meantime, are promoting it within the personage of prospects who might make the distinction over the approaching years.
CBS Sports activities will spend the subsequent month inspecting the highest three prospects in every group. Our definition of “prospect” is straightforward: does that participant have rookie eligibility remaining for the 2025 season? In that case, they are a prospect; if not, that is most likely why your favourite younger participant is absent from the proceedings.
As all the time, these lists are fashioned following conversations with scouts, analysts, participant growth specialists, and different expertise evaluators across the business. There is a truthful quantity of firsthand analysis, statistical evaluation, and historic analysis blended in, too. Plus a heaping of private bias — all of us have sure traits and profiles that we choose over others; there isn’t any sense pretending in any other case.
Take into account that there isn’t any one proper reply with these kinds of issues. Moreover, these are merely our opinions, that means they don’t have any precise bearing on the long run. We already revealed our rating of the highest 25 prospects in all the minors.
With all that out of the best way, let’s get to rating the highest three prospects within the Boston Crimson Sox system.
High 25 rating: No. 1
The brief hook: Achieved younger outfielder with room to develop
Anthony has loads working in his favor. He will not rejoice his twenty first birthday till the summer season, but he is already authored a formidable 35-game stretch in Triple-A, throughout which he recorded a .983 OPS and a stroll for each strikeout. His superior metrics, together with his ninetieth percentile exit velocity and his in-zone contact share, line up with these posted by James Wooden and Junior Caminero; his chase charge, in the meantime, was superior to each. (Wooden and Caminero subsequently hit properly within the majors.) If there’s an space the place Anthony might clearly stand to enhance, it needs to be with respect to pulling the ball within the air. He has immense uncooked power, the type that might finally end in 30-plus homers yearly; it is eyebrow-raising, then, that he pulled simply 4% of his Triple-A fly balls (the MLB common final season was over 9%). This rating is a wager on Anthony’s youth and expertise permitting him to determine that element over the approaching years. Even with out it, he is a high-quality prospect nearing arrival. MLB ETA: Spring 2025
2. Kristian Campbell, SS/2B/CF
High 25 rating: No. 3
The brief hook: The breakout prospect of the yr
Campbell has significantly boosted his inventory since being drafted within the fourth spherical throughout summer season 2023. He skilled his bat velocity over the winter, empowering him to launch 20 residence runs final yr after smoking solely 4 throughout his single season at Georgia Tech. Campbell’s added muscle provides him a well-rounded sport: he has really feel for contact and the zone alike; he is an above-average runner; and the Crimson Sox proceed to play him at shortstop, albeit whereas giving him seems elsewhere on the diamond, too. Campbell already has the looks of being a draft-day steal. Anticipate him to proceed to reinforce that notion in 2025, seemingly whereas spending numerous time within the majors. MLB ETA: Spring 2025
High 25 rating: No. 10
The brief hook: Proficient shortstop with sturdiness considerations
Unavailability has grow to be the theme of Mayer’s skilled profession. He is nonetheless but to play in 100 video games in a season, having missed a lot of the second half of 2024 on account of a lumbar pressure that prevented him from making his Triple-A debut. Mayer had yr when he was hearty and hale, almost matching Roman Anthony’s OPS at Double-A. He is added power (and swing and miss) since being drafted in 2021, and he continues to be an efficient shortstop with extra quickness than straight-line velocity. That makes for prospect, albeit one with a spotty well being monitor document. MLB ETA: Summer season 2025
