The future is looking brighter by the day for the Boston Red Sox' top prospect.
MLB.com released its updated ranking of the Top 100 prospects in baseball Monday, and 20-year-old shortstop Marcelo Mayer landed at No. 5 overall. Of the four prospects ahead of Mayer, two have already reached the big-league level: Cincinnati Reds phenom Elly De La Cruz (No. 2) and budding Miami Marlins ace Eury Perez (No. 4).
Mayer is also the Red Sox' first top-five prospect since MLB.com began its rankings in 2011.
Mayer shifted up four spots from MLB.com's last Top 100 ranking in January, when he was pegged at No. 9. He joins three other Red Sox prospects in the updated Top 100: outfielder/shortstop Ceddane Rafaela (No. 87), second baseman Nick Yorke (No. 91) and outfielder Miguel Bleis (No. 92).
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While the 22-year-old Rafaela has shown enough promise to earn a promotion to Triple-A Worcester on Sunday, Mayer is still the crown jewel of the Red Sox' farm system. The No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, Mayer was promoted to Double-A Portland in May, becoming the youngest Red Sox prospect to reach Double-A since Anthony Rizzo in 2009.
"The consensus among scouts was that Mayer was both the best hitter and best defender in his Draft class, a potential combination of Corey Seager's bat and Brandon Crawford's glove," MLB.com writes of Mayer. "Signed for a franchise-record $6,664,000, he batted .280/.399/.489 with 45 extra-base hits and 17 steals in his 2022 full-season debut despite dealing with a right wrist injury early in the year."
Mayer likely won't reach the major league level until 2024 at the earliest, and there's merit to the Red Sox taking things slow with their prized prospect. The talented shortstop also can't change Boston's fortunes on his own, as chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom will need other members of his prospect pool to improve their games if the Red Sox want to have long-term success.
There's no denying that Mayer looks like the real deal, however, and could take the mantle from Xander Bogaerts as Boston's next franchise shortstop in the very near future.
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