Marcelo Mayer has been tearing up Double-A pitchers all season. Boston Red Sox fans have been anxiously awaiting a promotion for the organization's top prospect, and the head of player development hinted that it may be coming.
Brian Abraham, Boston's head of player development, told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette he believes Mayer is nearing a promotion.
“Something we’ve talked about is potentially making the trip up to Worcester in the near future, which I’m sure is exciting,” Abraham said on June 22.
A few weeks have already passed since Abraham's interview, which means Mayer's promotion may come sooner rather than later. The young shortstop deserves the call-up.
Red Sox top prospect Marcelo Mayer may get the call-up to Triple-A soon
Mayer is slashing .306/.372/.476 through 69 games with Double-A Portland. He leads the Eastern League with 25 doubles and he recently became the first player in Sea Dogs history to be named to two All-Star Futures games. He'll play alongside fellow top-prospect Kyle Teel and Roman Anthony, Boston's No. 2 prospect, will participate in the hitting skills competition.
Mayer spent over half of his 2023 campaign with the Sea Dogs, but he never took off after he recovered from a shoulder impingement he sustained in May. He batted just .189/.254/.355 in his first 43 games with Portland and his low numbers had fans concerned about his progression through the farm system.
20 Doubles for Marcelo Mayer pic.twitter.com/ga1kiRelQA
— Portland Sea Dogs (@PortlandSeaDogs) June 4, 2024
A year later, the California native is raking, just as expected. MLB Pipeline predicts Mayer will be in the big leagues before the end of the season — if he's promoted soon, as Abraham expects, and continues his high-level offense in Triple-A, a 2024 debut could be possible. But the 21-year-old knows there's still work to be done.
". . .The final areas he’s trying to improve upon are swing decisions and in-zone contact, hitting the ball more consistently, and attacking the baseball more consistently –– which is a lot of young players," Abraham said.
Mayer strikes out far more than he walks, which highlights his consistency issues. He's fanned 58 times in 271 plate appearances and walked just 28 times. But, as his coaches have said, many young players can fine-tune their approach in Triple-A, and will continue throughout their major league career.
Mayer is regarded as one of the top prospects in baseball, and his eventual call-up to Triple-A will be huge for the Red Sox organization. Hopefully, his fellow "Big Three" members, Teel and Anthony, won't be far behind.
For now, Mayer leads the charge. Boston's top prospect will bring energy and hype to Polar Park, likely in the coming weeks.