Top prospects on display as Red Sox open minor league camp

Boston Red Sox prospects have arrived for minor league camp

The Boston Red Sox officially opened minor league camp for their prospects to begin training for the upcoming season. Spring training remains in limbo for the big league players until the lockout is lifted but prospects who aren’t on the 40-man roster aren’t impacted by the CBA negotiations and their minor league seasons are expected to begin on time.

While today is the first official day for pitchers and catchers to report to minor league camp, many of the top position players have already arrived to begin working out. Triston Casas, Nick Yorke and Marcelo Mayer are among those spotted in attendance. That trio accounts for three of the top-four prospects in the Red Sox farm system, per MLB Pipeline’s rankings.

Some of these prospects are participating in an intrasquad game this afternoon. Unfortunately, it isn’t televised, but the beat writers covering the team in Fort Myers have been sharing photos and videos from workouts that began this morning.

Here’s Casas launching a ball to deep left field that comes up just short during the scrimmage game. It goes down as a loud out but we can still see the impressive power that comes from his smooth swing.

The first baseman should begin the season in Triple-A and will be knocking on the door to his big league debut later this year.

Mayer, the No. 4 overall selection in last year’s draft, is one of the most exciting Red Sox prospects in recent memory. He’ll begin this season in Single-A and could be several years away from his major league debut but his superstar upside makes him an important prospect to watch. Here’s Mayer taking batting practice against Frank German, the pitching prospect acquired from the Yankees in the Adam Ottavino deal.

Alex Binelas, one of the prospects acquired from the Brewers in the Hunter Renfore for Jackie Bradley Jr. swap, has mostly played third base in his minor league career but might be better suited on the other side of the diamond. Binelas was seen getting some work in around the first base bag this morning, an early indication that the Red Sox plan to use him at the position.

Blaze Jordan is another corner infield prospect who was doing some drills at first base along with Binelas. The Red Sox are loaded with infield prospects and may eventually have trouble finding room for all of them. With the potential that Jordan and Binelas have with their bats, they’ll make room when the time comes within the next few years. Increasing their versatility by testing them at both corner infield spots will help create the flexibility to fit them in the lineup.

Minor league camp isn’t currently open to the public and it’s unclear if they will have any televised games. The updates and short clips provided by the beat writers covering the team give us a taste of baseball that we’ve been anxiously awaiting. The lockout isn’t over yet but it’s great to get some version of baseball back and see a glimpse of the top Red Sox prospects.