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Physical Description: Tall,
medium frame. Loose and projectable with room to add strength as
he physically matures. Looks the part.
Hit:
Starts open and vertical with his hands high. Quiet load with a
very short leg lift. Fluid swing with solid feel for hit. Quick
hands. Above-average bat speed. Impressive bat control. Ball
jumps off his bat. Has already shown the ability to turn on
velocity. Will use all fields and does not try to do too much at
the plate. Needs to tighten up his approach, as he chases at a
high rate. Needs to improve pitch recognition, especially
against breaking balls. Some questions about how his contact
skills will translate against more advanced pitching. Seems to
struggle to pick the ball up against left-handed pitchers and
has had considerable platoon splits throughout his career.
Potential average hit tool.
Power: Plus
raw power. Strong for his frame with good extension in his
swing. Has already shown the ability to drive the ball in the
air to all fields. Needs to add some strength, and if he does,
will turn doubles in the gap into home runs. Potential for
above-average game power at his peak.
Run:
Below-average speed. Good instincts, but not a burner. Will play
faster than his foot speed because of how he reads the game.
Field: Instinctual defender with fluid
actions. Looks like he is gliding on the field. Soft hands and
solid footwork. Moves well and has plenty of range for
shortstop. Confident defender; will take a flashy infield. Some
long-term concerns about his ability to stick at shortstop as he
matures. Organization appeared poised to get him some reps at
third base midway through 2024, but injuries, including the one
that eventually ended his season after July 30, effectively
scuttled those plans. Potential above-average defender at short
for the foreseeable future.
Arm: Plus
arm, plenty for shortstop. Confident in his arm and able to make
all the throws with plenty of zip. |
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Career
Notes: Was seen as the consensus top prospect in the
2021 MLB Draft but fell to the Red Sox with the fourth pick.
First caught the attention of scouts while playing with Twins
2019 first-round pick Keoni Cavaco. Switch hit when he was
young, but decided to focus on hitting left-handed after the
eighth grade. Played with and against Red Sox 2022 first-round
pick Mikey Romero in high school and on the travel circuit. Was
committed to USC before signing. Participated in the 2021 Fall
Performance Program. Entered 2022 season as a consensus top 20
prospect. Missed most of a period of about a month in April/May
2022 due to a wrist sprain. Was set to participate in the 2022
Fall Performance Program that was canceled due to Hurricane Ian.
Entered 2023 as a consensus top 10 prospect in the game.
Suffered a shoulder injury on a slide on May 7, 2023, and while
he only missed a week, the injury bothered him until he was
placed on the injured list in early August, missing the rest of
the season. Splits from before and after the injury were
drastic, and it is likely the injury affected his performance.
Participated in the Red Sox Rookie Development Programs in
January 2024 and January 2025. Prospect stock slid some entering 2024, but was
still seen as a consensus top 30 or so prospect as part of the
"Big 3" with Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel. After a strong start
to the season, missed a few games near the end of July and had a
short IL stint with what was originally understood to be a hip
injury. He was promoted to Worcester with Anthony and Teel on
August 13, but did not play again the rest of the season, as the
injury was eventually diagnosed as a lumbar strain.
Summation: Potential above-average regular.
Ceiling of an impact regular and occasional all-star. Has all
the tools you look for in a future everyday shortstop and the
offensive upside to hit at the top of a contending team's
lineup. Complete profile on both sides of the ball gives him an
all-star ceiling, but development has been somewhat slowed by
long-term injuries in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Game comes easy to
him. Potential for four above-average-or-better tools. Should be
able to stick at shortstop for the foreseeable future and hit
for average with power. Platoon and chase concerns hold hit tool
back, and when combined with injury question marks, has a wider
range of outcomes than you would expect and a decent number of
questions to answer for such a highly regarded prospect.
Links
Red Sox Select Marcelo Mayer with the Fourth Pick (7.11.21)
Countdown to Spring Training (3.15.2023)
Spring Training
Video (3.17.2023)
Spring Training
Video (3.18.2023) |
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