New top 100 prospects list from MLB sees shakeup for Boston Red Sox

The new MLB top 100 prospects list has dropped, and it was not short of Boston Red Sox representation

On Thursday, Major League Baseball released its updated top 100 prospects list ahead of the 2023 season. It was just further proof of how far the Boston Red Sox have come in this department.

The Red Sox had three players on the list at the end of the 2022 season. That's been upgraded to four.

Shortstop Marcelo Mayer saw his number drop from seven to nine. Still, having a top-10 prospect in all of baseball is good enough to get anyone excited. Mayer is an all-around talent with no major holes in his game. However, it's his bat that makes the left-handed hitter so intriguing. He finished 2022 with a strong final month in High-A and could be poised to move up in 2023.

Next up on the list was Triston Casas, who jumped up from 25 to 23. Casas won't be on the list for very long, though. He ended 2022 on the big league roster and it's clear that he's Boston's plan for first base moving forward. He's powerful left-handed bat with great discipline at the plate and solid defense at first, so it's clear why the Red Sox are excited about him.

Third was Ceddanne Rafaela. The center fielder took a giant leap forward in 2022 from a relative unknown to a top-100 prospect in all of baseball. Rafaela ended last season ranked 96th. He's starting 2023 all the way up at 86. Rafaela is an elite defender in the outfield and at shortstop. He's also shown top-tier defense at second base and third base. Electric offensively, posting a 20-20 season in 2022, Rafaela possesses a great combination of speed and power, making him an invaluable prospect for Boston.

Finally, we have the newcomer Miguel Bleis, who officially made his debut on the top 100 prospects list. The outfielder comes in at number 93. Bleis made waves in 2022 with an eye-popping arsenal of tools. Despite being 18 and not having played above rookie ball yet, the Bleis already grades out above average in every category. If anyone is going to fly up the list at an alarming rate, it's him.

The individual team's top 30 lists have not come out yet, so we don't have a clear ranking of where everyone stands in the Boston Red Sox organization, according to MLB. You would imagine they won't be too far off from where things ended in 2022. However, we already know there will be at least one change. Second baseman Nick Yorke was ranked fourth in the system, one spot ahead of Bleis. Clearly, Bleis has jumped him in the rankings.

Yorke has a chance to jump back into the top 100 (where he once held a spot) with a strong year. His 2022 was ravaged by injuries, but the talent is there. Outside of that, there are a few other strong options for top 100 consideration if they produce in 2023, led by shortstop Mikey Romero.

For now, though, the Red Sox have a strong representation on the top 100 prospects list, so fans can, for the time being, feel optimistic about what's to come.