Red Sox
“I couldn’t love my teammates any more than I do now.”
PORTLAND, Maine — Krisitan Campbell might be the latest addition to the Portland Sea Dogs’ clubhouse, but it didn’t take very long for the 21-year-old slugger to settle into his new home at Hadlock Field.
It certainly helps when several of his new teammates have long held court as some of the top prospects in their respective draft classes.
“I’ve heard of a lot of the guys before I got here, even in high school,” Campbell said Wednesday. “I knew of Marcelo [Mayer], I never played with him or against him or anything, but I knew he was one of the top prospects in my class. … [Kyle] Teel, played against him in college. I couldn’t love my teammates any more than I do now.”
While the Red Sox continue to exceed expectations amid a mid-June surge, it remains to be seen just how viable this MLB roster’s chances of contending are in 2024 — and whether or not Boston’s top brass deems this season as one worth investing in at the big-league level.
But regardless of the path charted in the pros in 2024, the Red Sox’ hopes of constructing a sustainable contender are being buoyed in Portland — where an uber-talented pool of young talent is continuing to thrive against Double-A competition.
While Campbell has seen his stock soar after a blistering two-week stretch in Portland, the Sea Dogs have been anchored by a trio of blue-chip prospects who have all the makings of being franchise fixtures at Fenway in due time.
Portland currently features three players listed within the top 30 of MLB.com’s top 100 prospects ranking: shortstop Marcelo Mayer (No. 11), outfielder Roman Anthony (No. 16), and catcher Kyle Teel (No. 29).
And while it’s to be expected for prospects to hit snags in their developmental timeline, such hasn’t been the case this season for Portland’s “Big Three” — with a call to Triple-A Worcester sitting on the horizon.
“It’s amazing,” Anthony said of Portland’s stacked roster. “You look at what these guys are doing, it’s quite impressive. Between Campbell and Kyle and Marcelo — they’re just ballplayers. They have high IQs on the field. They come in every day with a plan. And I think we all build off each other so much and we push each other in cage work or whatever it may be — wherever we are on the field.
“We’re always learning from each other and always communicating on and off the field during games, whatever it may be. It’s just a constant level of communication and we have such a great friendship, all of us. We just go out there and try to play the game to win that night and everything else comes together.”
The Sea Dogs, who sit second in the Eastern League Northeast with a 35-30 record, lead the league in runs scored (365) by a wide margin (40 more runs than second-place Somerset) thanks to Mayer, Anthony, and Teel.
Mayer, hampered by a shoulder injury last summer that saw him slash just .190/.256/.366 over his final 55 games for High-A Greenville and Portland in 2023, has thrived this season with a clean bill of health.
Entering Thursday, the 21-year-old shortstop is slashing .312/.376/.870 over 60 games in Portland — leading the Eastern League in doubles with 25 while ranking second in batting average and hits (77), and first in runs scored (48).
“There’s no limitations, right? So I personally get to see a guy I didn’t see last year,” Portland manager Chad Epperson said of Mayer’s play this season. “We all know the hype, we all know he’s the No. 1 prospect. But now you see it with no limitations, this guy has shown the bat speed, he’s shown the pop, his defensive skills. His IQ of the game is unbelievable.
“He does so many little things that don’t show up on box scores and everything that impacts the game. So happy for him, one for being healthy, but obviously, I know coming into spring training, he was wanting to put to bed a lot of the talk that some people were doing and he’s done it and you can’t ask for better start.”
Mayer has established himself as Boston’s top prospect for years now. But he’s faced some friendly competition for that top spot from both Anthony and Teel.
Anthony, who turned 20 just last month, has gone from a relatively unknown high-school product to one of the top prospects in baseball.
Anthony’s exit velocity and plate discipline are considered well above current development timeline, with the poised outfielder currently sixth in the Eastern League with a .385 on-base percentage to go along with a .270 batting average, 15 doubles and seven home runs.
After a slow start to the season with a few bumps and bruises, Anthony is slashing .378/.465/.865 with four home runs and eight RBI so far in June.
Teel, 22, was viewed as a more polished product than high-schoolers in Mayer and Anthony when Boston drafted him out of the University of Virginia with the No. 14 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft.
But few expected the gifted catcher to carve a swath through Boston’s farm system this quickly.
After spending three games with the Florida Complex League Red Sox last summer, Teel skipped Low-A Salem and landed with High-A Greenville shortly after getting drafted. It only took him 14 games to earn yet another call-up — ending his abbreviated 2023 campaign with Portland and batting .323 and with a home run over his nine games with the Sea Dogs.
He’s shown little signs of slowing down this season, with Teel tied with Mayer for second in the Eastern League in batting average (.312) to go along with a .406 on-base percentage (second in Eastern League) and both seven home runs and 42 RBI.
Add in Teel’s defensive capabilities behind the plate, and Boston very well could have its franchise catcher, shortstop, and corner outfielder all marinating at the same time in Portland.
Of course, Portland’s imposing lineup may not remain together that much longer. Promotions could be in line for some of Boston’s top prospects in the foreseeable future, especially Teel and Mayer.
But for now, Anthony and the rest of the Sea Dogs aren’t fretting over where they end up — so long as they all reconvene at Fenway in the years ahead.
“I think our group as a whole does a great job of not really worrying about anything else, or any other level,” Anthony said. “The only thing we’re really worried about here is winning and showing up to the field every day. And we’ve talked about it a couple of times now in the locker room, as a team, like ‘Hey, let’s just go there and try to win today and screw everything else. We’re gonna go out today. And if we try to win as a team, everything else is going to take care of itself.’”
“So it’s really fun. And it’s a great group that we have here. It’s a competitive group. And it’s always fun when you show up to the locker room every day at noon, and you have a group of guys that are all there early and all constantly sitting around and bonding. It’s really fun to go out there and take the field with a team like that.”
Newsletter Signup
Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
