The Red Sox have reached an agreement with second-round compensatory draft pick Roman Anthony, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. The agreement is pending a physical.
Boston selected Anthony — an outfielder out of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. — with the 79th overall pick in the 2022 first-year player draft. The Red Sox were rewarded with that pick after losing Eduardo Rodriguez to the Tigers in free agency.
Anthony, 18, was regarded by Baseball America as the 72nd-ranked prospect in this year’s draft class. The left-handed hitter recently put the finishing touches on a senior season with the Eagles in which be batted .520/.589/.980 with 14 doubles, one triple, 10 home runs, 40 RBIs, 36 runs scored, 21 stolen bases, 21 walks, and 15 strikeouts over 32 games spanning 129 trips to the plate, per MaxPreps.
Known for his plus raw power, Anthony had been committed to play college baseball at the University of Mississippi. It now appears as though the Red Sox have been able to sway the native Floridian away from his commitment to Ole Miss. Speier reports that the two sides have reached agreement on a $2.5 million deal, which is well north of the $820,000 allotted to the 79th pick.
That sort of investment just goes to show how much the Red Sox like what they have in Anthony, who at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds has the tools to stick in center field.
“Basically the story with Roman is he’s a tremendous athlete,” amateur scouting director Paul Toboni said Sunday night. “We think he has a really good shot at sticking in center field and he’s got this profile where he gets on base, he sees the ball well, but he’s also got tremendous, tremendous power potential. And that’s a pretty rare combination to find for a center fielder.”
Assuming he passes his physical, expect Anthony to begin his professional career in the Florida Complex League.
(Picture of Roman Anthony: Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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