Outfielder Roman Anthony has been tabbed by MLB Pipeline as the top power-hitting prospect in the Red Sox farm system heading into the 2024 season.
Anthony is currently regarded by MLB Pipeline as the No. 24 prospect in baseball, trailing only shortstop Marcelo Mayer (No. 15) for the top spot in the organization. The 19-year-old’s power tool is graded by the outlet as a 60 on the 20-80 scouting scale, which translates to above average.
After being selected by the Red Sox with the 79th overall pick in the 2022 amateur draft out of Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Anthony enjoyed a productive first full season in pro ball last year. Across 106 total games at three different minor-league levels, the left-handed hitter slashed .272/.403/.466 with 27 doubles, four triples, 14 home runs, 64 RBIs, 78 runs scored, 16 stolen bases, 86 walks, and 119 strikeouts over 491 plate appearances.
Anthony spent the first two-plus months of the 2023 campaign at Low-A Salem, where he slashed .228/.376/.317 with nine doubles, one triple, one home run (the first of his professional career), 18 RBIs, 27 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, 38 walks, and 38 strikeouts in 42 games (202 plate appearances). While some of those surface-level numbers may seem uninspiring, the Red Sox were encouraged by the underlying metrics (such as swing decisions and high exit velocities) and elected to move Anthony up to High-A Greenville in early June.
With Greenville, Anthony experienced a surge in both power and striking out. He produced at a .294/.412/.569 clip with 14 doubles, three triples, 12 homers, 38 RBIs, 41 runs scored, two stolen bases, 40 walks, and 75 punchouts over 54 games (245 plate appearances) for the Drive before receiving another promotion to Double-A Portland in early September.
To close out an eventful season, Anthony batted .343/.477/.543 with four doubles, one home run, eight runs driven in, 10 runs scored, three stolen bases, eight walks, and six strikeouts in a brief 10-game, 44-plate appearance sample with the Sea Dogs. Between what he did in Salem, Greenville, and Portland, Anthony was recognized as the Red Sox’ Minor League Offensive Player of the Year.
Among the 12 Boston minor-leaguers who made at least 450 trips to the plate in 2023, Anthony ranked second in walk rate (17.5 percent), third in batting average, second in on-base percentage, fourth in slugging percentage, third in OPS (.869), fourth in isolated power (.194), first in line-drive rate (27.2 percent), fourth in swinging-strike rate (8.8 percent), and first in wRC+ (143), per FanGraphs.
On the other side of the ball, Anthony saw playing time at all three outfield spots last year. With Salem, the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder made one start in left, 14 in right, and 18 in center. With Greenville, he made four starts in right and 40 in center. He was used exclusively in center by Portland, where he registered one outfield assist without committing an error in 28 defensive chances.
Coming off a breakout 2023, Anthony — who does not turn 20 until May — is now considered a consensus top 25 prospect in the sport. Barring a surprise, he is expected to return to Portland for the start of the 2024 season, though he could work his way to Triple-A Worcester (or even Boston) later in the year if the Red Sox continue to be aggressive with his development.
In the more immediate future, Anthony is not at big-league spring training with the Red Sox in Fort Myers even after taking part in the club’s rookie development program earlier this winter. When speaking with reporters (including The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey) at JetBlue Park on Thursday, manager Alex Cora said third base/outfield coach Kyle Hudson has inquired about bringing Anthony up from minor-league camp for a few games.
“It was a hard no,” Cora said (with a laugh) after asking player development staff about Anthony. “Huddy is trying, but (player development) they’ve got their program over there, he needs to get his reps and we don’t want to take him out of that. Two at-bats here, yeah it’s great for everybody to see him play and all that, but I think there’s a lot of things going on that are more important right now for his development. So whenever they decide we can take him, we’ll take him.”
(Picture of Roman Anthony: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
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