PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — As Roman Anthony stepped to the plate with two outs in the top of the fifth, a fan in the crowd at Charlotte Sports Park decided it would be a good idea to chirp the No. 2 prospect in MLB.
The chant: “Over-rated!”
The response: Boom.
Moments after the words left the heckler’s lips, the top Red Sox prospect smashed a missile of a home run well over 400 feet to right field. The ball cleared the outfield concourse and bounced off the roof of a building on the outer edge of the stadium.
It was exactly the type of moment MLB had in mind when it created the Spring Breakout prospect showcase.
Now in its second year, the Spring Breakout series aims to highlight the game’s next generation of young stars. Boasting the No. 1 farm system in the sport, Boston’s roster was appropriately stacked, and the Red Sox’s top prospects delivered as advertised on Thursday night.
All three of Boston’s top prospects homered in the team’s 7-5 loss to their Tampa Bay Rays counterparts. Prior to Anthony’s cathartic bomb, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer went back-to-back in the top of the third, with Campbell taking a 96 mph fastball from Rays prospect Trevor Harrison the opposite way for a two-run bomb in the top of the third, and Mayer immediately following by pulling the second pitch he saw over the left field wall.
Following the game the trio of prospects said they were excited to all come through together, and Anthony acknowledged that silencing the heckler brought a small measure of satisfaction.
“Yeah, it’s not the first time I’ve heard that this spring,” Anthony said with a smile following the game. “It’s always funny, but that’s part of it.”
“That’s definitely not the first time, it’s happened a couple of times in Triple-A,” Campbell added.
“That was sick,” Mayer said.
Anthony, Campbell and Mayer all rank within the top-15 of Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects list and were the obvious headliners for the Red Sox. But beyond getting a chance to take center stage under the bright lights, the event also represented a chance for players from all levels of the minor leagues to come together.
“A couple of guys in big league camp, some guys coming over from the (Dominican Republic) for the first time, A-ball all the way up to Triple-A, so to be able to play on the same team is pretty cool,” said Red Sox senior director of player development Brian Abraham prior to the game. “And obviously under the lights, in front of a lot of fans, on TV, those opportunities don’t come around too often when you’re in the minor leagues. So it’s really special, really awesome opportunity that Major League Baseball has provided us.”
Connelly Early, Boston’s No. 10 ranked prospect according to Baseball America, got the start for Boston and allowed two unearned runs on three hits and a walk with two strikeouts over three innings. He was followed out of the bullpen by Brandon Clarke, Cooper Adams, Hunter Dobbins and Blake Wehunt.
Other notable participants included 19-year-old infielder Franklin Arias, Boston’s fourth-ranked prospect and Baseball America’s No. 76 prospect in MLB, former first-round pick Mikey Romero (2 for 4, double), and top recent international signings Jhostynxon Garcia, Miguel Bleis and Yoeilin Cespedes. Brooks Brannon, a 20-year-old catcher who finished last season in Low-A, had an RBI single to round out Boston’s scoring.
Back down I-75 in Fort Myers, the Red Sox big leaguers held a simulated game on the main field at JetBlue Park. The highlight of the afternoon was Rafael Devers, who hit a towering three-run home run to straightaway center field in his third at bat against starter Walker Buehler.
Buehler threw four innings and 61 pitches in what was largely a successful outing outside of Devers’ bomb, and Trevor Story returned to action after sitting the prior two days with back tightness. Story hit a double off the wall in his last at bat and moved comfortably around the field at shortstop, and following the game he said he felt good and expects to be back in the lineup on Saturday as planned.
The Red Sox will play the Miami Marlins in Jupiter for the second game of the club’s two-day swing across Florida’s east coast. Richard Fitts will get the start, with Michael Fulmer and Aroldis Chapman scheduled to follow him out of the bullpen. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m., but the game is not scheduled to be broadcast via either television or radio.
In addition, the Red Sox will also hold a Futures at Fenway South prospect showcase at JetBlue Park. That game will feature a team of Red Sox minor leaguers playing against fellow prospects from the Minnesota Twins, and can be found on WEEI 850 AM starting at 1:05 p.m.