Kiley McDaniel just released his " Mid-Season top 100 MLB Prospects " list and 4 Red Sox prospects made the list including 2 in the top 10.
5. Marcelo Mayer, SS, Boston Red Sox/AA, Age: 21.7
Mayer is now looking like the guy the Red Sox were expecting when they took him No. 4 overall in the 2021 draft. He projects for 20-25 homers at peak with at least average on-base skills and a steady glove at short.
7. Roman Anthony, RF, Boston Red Sox/AA, Age: 20.2
Anthony has plus power and patience, solid enough bat-to-ball skills, and is athletic enough to play center field if needed.
34. Kyle Teel, C, Boston Red Sox/AA, Age: 22.5
Teel and Ballesteros are young catchers; they notoriously don't develop as expected. Teel is average-to-above at everything except for running, while Ballesteros is on the catcher/first baseman spectrum with some Alejandro Kirk vibes but hits lefty and has plus power.
54. Kristian Campbell, 2B, Boston Red Sox/AA, Age: 22.1
Campbell was a prospect I knew well living in Atlanta as he went to high school in the area and played at Georgia Tech. In 2023, I found myself talking scouts into turning him in -- they didn't want their team to draft him at all, so they didn't even put in a report. I saw plus-plus contact skills and surprisingly good exit velos despite a swing that needed a full rework, along with at least average speed that occasionally flashed plus and the ability to play the infield; I ranked him 88th in my midseason draft rankings before moving him down as scouts told me he wouldn't go close to that high. They were right as he went 132nd overall and I ranked him 186th (pretty close, considering the dozens of unsigned high schoolers I ranked ahead of him).
The swing rework by the Red Sox, while still a little awkward looking, has paid dividends much more quickly than expected. His attack angle is much steeper and he's swinging really hard, so his contact rates are slightly below average, but his pitch selection is solid, and his exit velos are plus along with his now consistently plus speed (14 homers, 20 steals this year). He's also still playing shortstop and should be doing it a good bit down the stretch this year. One rival exec called him "mysterious" because of how so many teams misevaluated him a year ago and still aren't sure what he is now. He's raking at Double-A while being age appropriate for a prospect and could be a shortstop with enough on-base skills, plus power and plus speed.
It's worth noting for Red Sox fans that I started this process and published my recent farm system rankings thinking Campbell would sneak on the end of this list, so his landing here after getting more feedback is a roughly $15 million adjustment of prospect value. Since Boston was 10th in those rankings, at the back of a tightly grouped pack of teams, the Red Sox have now moved up to sixth and will be fifth when James Wood (from the currently fifth-ranked Nationals) graduates later this month.
Also - a couple of Red Sox prospects made his " notable risers " list.
Franklin Arias, SS, Boston Red Sox/Low-A, Age: 18.7
Jhostynxon Garcia, CF, Boston Red Sox/High-A, Age: 21.7
Full rankings list:
Who leads MLB's next wave of stars? Updated top 100 prospect rankings
