It’s unclear exactly when Boston Red Sox top prospect Roman Anthony will break through to the majors this season.
The 20-year-old outfielder could possibly make the team out of spring training or be a mid-season call up. Regardless, much is expected of Anthony once he arrives in the big leagues.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, who ranked Anthony as the No. 2 prospect in all of baseball, predicted in a story published Wednesday that Anthony will be one of five prospects to spend half of the season in MLB while “performing better than league average and racking up at least 1.5 WAR.”
“Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony (No. 2) and Orioles third baseman Coby Mayo (No. 8) rank among the top 10 prospects in the entire sport, so this wouldn’t be shocking for them, but neither is expected to break camp with their big league club, so it’s unclear how much MLB time they’ll get,” McDaniel wrote. “I think both will force their way into roster spots after dominating in Triple-A, and hit the ground running.”
Anthony already showed well in Triple-A last season when he got promoted in mid-August. After batting .269 with 15 home runs and 45 RBIs with Double-A Portland last season, Anthony tore the cover off the ball at Triple-A by slashing .344/.463/.519 with three home runs and 20 RBIs in 35 games.
The Red Sox extended an invitation to big-league spring training to Anthony, giving him a shot to make a valuable impression once again.
Whether Anthony can live up to expectations obviously remains to be seen. And McDaniel isn’t the only MLB expert thinking big things are ahead for Anthony. The Athletic’s Keith Law envisioned Anthony having a “best player in the league” type of career.
The hype around Anthony certainly is a lot to put on his shoulders. And the Red Sox will see how he handles it all once spring training begins.
