Roman Anthony, at just 20 years old, is baseball's No. 1 position player prospect in 2025. He has a good chance at making the Boston Red Sox's Opening Day roster if he continues to produce in spring training and if Wilyer Abreu's mysterious "gastrointestinal virus" keeps him sidelined from baseball activities much longer.
Anthony spent two months in Triple-A last season, and he almost looked bored at the plate. In 35 games, he batted .344 with a .982 OPS, three homers, 20 RBI, and took just as many walks as strikeouts (31 apiece). Although the Red Sox's outfield is overcrowded as it is, Abreu being left off of the Opening Day roster would be the perfect way for Boston to get their top guy into the majors to get his feet wet, at least.
If there's one concern with Anthony, it's his defense. He's spent most of his time in the minors in center field with only occasional trips to the corners. MLB Pipeline still grades him at a 50 (out of 80) for his fielding and suggests he could be moved to a corner more regularly as he develops.
There's no reason to believe that defense is a glaring red flag for him, but Tony Massarotti seemed to take it as one. On 98.5 The Sports Hub, he went off on a tirade and nitpicked at a scouting report, which said Anthony should be come an above-average outfielder.
"What do you mean, 'should'?" Massarotti basically screamed down his mic. "'Should' tells me that he's not good and that he's gotta grow into it. [...] How is a guy the No. 1 prospect in the game if his defense sucks?"
.@TonyMassarotti Is CONCERNED About Roman Anthony@FelgerAndMazz @mikefelger @bigjimmurray @IAmJamesStewart @RyanMacGarvin @LukeGraham05 pic.twitter.com/zhrHpqgTeP
— 98.5 The Sports Hub (@985TheSportsHub) February 28, 2025
Red Sox No. 1 prospect Roman Anthony had incredibly mature response to Tony Massarotti calling his defensive capabilities into question
This kind of contrarianism is just flat-out annoying. Massarotti went on to say that Anthony projects to be a DH, after reading one scouting report (which was still positive and optimistic about Anthony's development, per Massarotti himself), nitpicking a single word, and letting himself spiral out about it. It's unfair to expect that any prospect comes into the majors as a fully-formed player, especially when a player is as young as Anthony and as the gap in difficulty between the minors and majors grows wider.
To his credit, Anthony had a level response to Massarotti's criticism and used it instead to praise the organization and the city of Boston.
"They're always there and they hold us to a standard. And I love that," Anthony said. "I think playing in Boston, you're playing meaningful baseball 24/7. So just taking on challenges like that is something I’m super excited to be a part of and to learn about when I'm actually there."
Massarotti looked like he was on the verge of combustion while yelling about Anthony, so killing him with kindness was the perfect way for Anthony to respond. He knows that nothing is promised, and he can surely hold himself to a higher standard than a shock jock.