Marcelo Mayer reminds everyone why he’s a prized Red Sox prospect
Last year the Boston Red Sox found themselves the lucky winners of the Marcelo Mayer lottery, despite having the fourth-overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft.
Yes, Mayer went fourth, but it felt like the consensus was that he was the best prospect in the draft. And the shortstop has done absolutely nothing to make anyone think otherwise so far.
He looked great in his short sample size last year. However, that was just 26 games (91 at-bats) in Rookie Ball. Now he’s up in Low-A. And while that’s still pretty far down in the minors, it’s a tall order for a 19-year-old. We’re starting to get into that territory now.
And yes, the first weekend of the season doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. Believe me, I’ll gladly tell anyone why they should shut up about Triston Casas and Nick Yorke “struggling” for a few games. Especially considering how Yorke’s season started so disastrously last year and he ended up going Roman-Reigns-God-Mode for the last few months.
That being said, have you seen what Marcelo Mayer is doing? The Red Sox have to be salivating. In three games for Salem, the left-handed hitter has 13 at-bats. He’s ripped seven hits in that time. That’s a .538 average. Mayer has two doubles, six RBI, one run scored, and has only struck out once.
If you went to a Salem Red Sox game with zero knowledge of the team, you would not believe anyone that told you Mayer was 19 (outside of the fact that dude looks like he’s still in high school). You’d probably think he was a Major Leaguer that was just starting a rehab assignment or something. Because there’s no way a 19-year-old with 104 at-bats in his professional career looks that comfortable at the plate. It’s just not possible.
Getting to see a full year of Mayer is more-than just “exciting”. What’s going to be interested is just how much he can accomplish. Dominating Low-A definitely looks like a real possibility. Could we see him get the call-up to High-A even quicker than Yorke did last year? Maybe we get a full two-months at that level?
All that remains to be seen. What we know now is that the Salem lineup is must-watch with Mayer (and Blaze Jordan) leading the way. The future of the Boston Red Sox franchise is insanely bright, and Marcelo Mayer is shining more than anyone.