Red Sox top prospect Marcelo Mayer has tore up High-A pitching this season and he will be rewarded with a promotion to Double-A Portland on Tuesday.
Mayer, the Sox No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 draft received the good news on Sunday, per The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.
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.
Mayer is regarded by most publications as the No. 1 prospect in Boston’s farm system. Baseball America has the Chula Vista, Calif. native ranked at No. 12 overall prospect.
In the month of May, he hit .321/.357/.641 with six homers in 18 games. He was rewarded by being named the South Atlantic League Player of the Week for May 1-7 (.516 with six doubles and three homers).
The jump from Greenville to Double-A Portland is the next step in his development with the Sox.
Chaim Bloom gave an assessment as to where he thought the future Sox’ shortstop was at with his development.
“Even before the results, a lot of the under-the-surface things were really good, and now the results have been there,” Bloom told NESN’s Tom Caron on the “TC & Company” podcast last week.
“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, his focus is 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. He will make his debut at Hadlock Field on June 6.
Story Update
Trevor Story continues to make progress down in Fort Myers rehabbing after undergoing internal brace surgery on his throwing elbow back in January.
Story physically looks strong and has been getting stronger while training in Florida. The Red Sox haven’t put a definite timeline on his return at this point.
The 30-year-old has not yet begun any live reps offensively or defensively.
After spending his first six years of his career in Colorado, the two-time All-Star signed a six-year, $140-million deal with the Red Sox prior to the start of the 2022 season.
He played just 94 games dealing with hand and heel injuries throughout the year. The Texas native hit .238 with a .737 OPS, 16 homers, and 66 RBIs in his first season.
Alex Cora told reporters that Story is expected to be the team’s shortstop. “Is he being built up as a shortstop? '100 percent,” said the Sox skipper.
The Red Sox are starting to get some their injured players closer to returning to action. Baring any setbacks, Story could be back with Boston in mid-July roughly around the All-Star break.
Adam Duvall an option at first base?
Adam Duvall is aiming for a June 9 return off the injured list after missing the last couple of months with a left wrist fracture.
“There’s a chance,” said Cora last Saturday prior to the 4-2 win over the Padres.
Cora announced prior to the start of the Diamondbacks series over the weekend that Duvall would begin his rehab stint with the WooSox on Tuesday.
Once Duvall is eligible to return to the Red Sox, the team will need to play roster Tetris to make him fit on the 26-man squad.
One potential option for Duvall could be shifting him from the outfield and have him play first base. He’s played 43 games over there during this career, last playing at first in 2018.
The Red Sox have had some success converting outfielders into a first baseman. After acquiring Kyle Schwarber back in 2021, Boston shifted the outfielder to the infield. Prior to Schwarber moving to first base, he had played one career game there. He ended up playing 10 games there he came off the injured list in August that season, making one error.
The notion of flirting with Duvall at first comes on the heels of Triston Casas scuffling over the first two months of the season at the plate. In fairness to Casas, he’s been better in May, owning a .250 batting average with three homers, seven RBIs and nine walks.
Casas is 6-for-18 (.333) in his last five games. He’s posted a .841 OPS and a .475 slugging percentage in May which is a massive improvement over April (.585 OPS and .301 slugging percent).
Cora could platoon Duvall and Justin Turner at first if they elect to option Casas to Triple-A Worcester. It’s not an ideal solution but one the team is in due to the 23-year-old’s struggles to hit for consistent average at the major league level.
Duvall went 15-for-33 (.455) with a .514 on-base percentage, 1.030 slugging percentage, four homers, five doubles, one triple, 14 RBIs and 11 runs in eight games before getting hurt.
WooSox reliever could solve lefty issues in the bullpen
It’s only been three appearances for Joely Rodríguez but the left-hander has scuffled since coming off the injured list. He’s pitched to an 8.10 ERA with three strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.
Rodríguez allowed two runs in the 8th inning Tuesday night against the Angels. He tossed 1/3 inning allowing three hits, one walk and struck out one batter.
With Rodríguez’s and fellow lefty Richard Bleier's struggles, the team is going to need a reliable southpaw in the bullpen.
Bleier has been dreadful, across 19 outings, he has a 5.85 ERA and has posted a career worsts in ground ball rate, homers per nine innings, left on base percentage and fWAR ground ball rate. The veteran is on the injured list suffering from shoulder inflammation.
Boston has some internal options with Brennan Bernardino and Ryan Sherriff. Bernardino is no longer on the 26-man roster, looked impressive early particularly against lefty bats (.130 opponent average against) but he’s coming crashing back down to earth. Sherriff pitched well in two appearances in May, giving up one hit and striking out one batter in two innings.
If the Red Sox wanted to dig deep into the system for potential internal help, lefties Joe Jacques could be an intriguing option at some point this season.
Jacques has pitched in 20 games, making one start in an opener role, he’s posted a 0-2 record with a 3.74 ERA, 19 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings. Boston acquired the New Jersey native this offseason in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, via the Pirates.
The lefty has solidified himself within the WooSox bullpen that is loaded with lefties.
“He throws strikes and has heavy action on that two-seam.” Worcester skipper Chad Tracy said. “We feel if he uses his pitches the right way, he can get right handers out too. He is also working on that changeup with (Paul) Abbott to help him go both ways and get right handers out consistently.”
With the trade deadline roughly two months away, adding a reliable lefty out of the bullpen will likely be atop of Bloom’s to-do list.