Red Sox prospect Roman Anthony earned a promotion to High-A Greenville after slugging just .316 with one homer, nine doubles and one triple in 42 games at Low-A Salem.
“The way he was hitting the ball pull side, how hard he was hitting it, the ball coming off the bat and the angles he hit the ball off the bat to the pull side, showed that there was going to be more success, more power coming in the near future,” director of player development Brian Abraham said.
It ended up happening right after his promotion. His hard contact at Salem turned into long home runs at Greenville.
“It’s certainly come really quick, which has been exciting,” Abraham said.
Anthony, a 19-year-old center fielder who Boston selected in the compensation second round of the 2022 MLB Draft, is slugging .729 with five homers and five doubles in 13 games at Greenville. He’s Boston’s fastest rising prospect. Baseball America already ranks him the Red Sox’s No. 4 prospect and No. 97 on its Top 100 list. BA ranked him No. 9 in the system entering the season, writing he “shows plus to double plus raw power and can clear fences with ease.”
“He’s been able to drive the ball in the air to all fields and it’s been really exciting to see,” Abraham said.
Anthony’s basic stats across the board, except for on-base percentage (.376), weren’t great at Salem. He went 36 for 158 (.228 batting average). But the 6-foot-3, 200-pound left-handed hitter was not only making hard contact. He also showed great plate discipline, which helped him pile up as many walks (38) as strikeouts (38). The Red Sox knew he’d see more strikes (leading to him swinging more) in High A.
“Seeing more consistent strikes is definitely a real thing,” Abraham said.
They also largely took into account his peripherals, some of the advanced stats a fan won’t see when they click on his MiLB.com profile.
“I think some of the work he had been doing in Salem, some of the peripheral numbers all showed the possibility of this happening,” Abraham said. “A different ballpark as well. Salem is not the most hitter-friendly ballpark.
“I think he does a lot of things really well in his early work and his training,” Abraham added. “I think a lot of the numbers we look at that would probably lead to more consistent success, he showed. We’re excited about him. He’s young, hits the ball hard and is really athletic as well.”
Baseball America wrote earlier this season, “While the slash line has not been what you’d hope for so far this season, few prospects have better underlying traits than Anthony. The outfielder has an elite combination of bat-to-ball skills, power and swing decisions that have impressed evaluators over the first few months of 2023. He hits too many balls on the ground, which is one of the reasons for a lack of production, but he’s athletic enough to make adjustments and grow into an impact regular.”
Anthony – who crushed a 450-foot homer during the 2021 High School All-American Game at Coors Field (as MLB Pipeline noted) – is batting .313 (15 for 48) with a .441 on-base percentage at Greenville.
He has not played since June 29. He’s building back strength after being sick and should be in the lineup again soon.
The Red Sox saw his power coming at some point. But are they surprised it came so quickly?
“I don’t think we’re ever surprised with the success that our players have,” Abraham said. “We don’t put a timeline on that type of stuff. I think baseball is such a unique game. If he went out there and struggled, I don’t think we’d say, ‘I can’t believe he struggled so quickly right away.’ I think again, the work that he’s put in has set him up for the possibility to do that. The type of player he is, the type of person he is, set him up for the possibility to do that.
“With a kid like that and a lot of other players we have, I don’t think we’re ever surprised,” Abraham added. “It’s always a good thing for sure. We’d definitely rather have it quick and see some of the results with the work being put in than not. But I also don’t think the results at his age or at the lower levels always dictate future success. There’s a lot that goes into it. There’s a process in place. There’s different things we value and track that we use on our end to make sure we’re putting guys in the right situation to have success at the upper levels.”
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