Two of the most exciting young prospects in the Red Sox organization are moving up to Portland, as Kyle Teel and Roman Anthony have both been promoted to Double-A.
The news was first reported by Milb Central on Instagram and confirmed by a Red Sox source Monday morning.
Teel was Boston’s first-round pick in this past July’s MLB Draft and Anthony was chosen after the second round last summer with the compensatory pick obtained by losing Eduardo Rodriguez. Both have dominated High-A pitching since joining the Greenville Drive and will now have a chance to test themselves against stronger competition over the last two weeks of the Portland Sea Dogs’ season.
Teel, a 21-year-old catcher out of the University of Virginia, hit the ground running after starting his professional career last month. He made his High-A debut on Aug. 8 and proceeded to bat .377 with a .983 OPS, nine RBI, 10 runs scored, four doubles and as many walks (11) as strikeouts (11) in only 14 games. Teel currently ranks as Boston’s No. 4 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
Anthony has rocketed through the ranks and is now considered a top 20 prospect in all of baseball. The 19-year-old outfielder becomes the youngest Red Sox draftee to reach Double-A in over a decade, and he earns the promotion after batting .294 with 12 home runs, 38 RBI and a .981 OPS in 54 games with Greenville.
As of this weekend Anthony is ranked Boston’s No. 2 prospect behind only Marcelo Mayer and No. 19 overall according to Baseball America.
With Teel and Anthony’s promotion the Portland Sea Dogs roster is becoming a who’s who of top Red Sox prospects. Even putting aside Mayer, Boston’s top prospect who has been out with left shoulder inflammation since the start of August, the Sea Dogs currently feature second baseman Nick Yorke (Boston’s No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline), right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez (No. 9), corner infielder Blaze Jordan (No. 12), catcher Nathan Hickey (No. 15), right-hander Angel Bastardo (No. 16) and infielder Chase Meidroth (No. 20).
Portland is scheduled to spend the next week on the road in Reading, Pennsylvania before returning for the final homestand of the season next Tuesday against the Hartford Yard Goats. That series will run from Sept. 12-17 at Hadlock Field.