On Thursday, Major League Baseball released its updated top 100 prospect list ahead of the 2023 season. It was just further proof of how far the Boston Red Sox have come in this department.
At the end of the 2022 season, the Red Sox had three players on the roster. It has improved to four.
Shortstop Marcelo Mayer saw his count drop from seven to nine. Still, having a top-10 prospect in all of baseball is good enough to get anyone excited. Mayer is an all-around talent with no major holes in his game. However, it is his bat that makes the left-handed batsman so intriguing. He finished 2022 with a strong final month in High-A and could be ready to move up in 2023.
Triston Casas was next on the list, moving from 25th to 23rd. However, Casas won’t be on the roster for long. He finished 2022 on the big league roster, and it’s clear that he’s Boston’s plan at first base moving forward. He’s a powerful left-handed bat with great discipline and solid defense at first, so it’s clear why the Red Sox are excited about him.
Third was the Sedan Raffaella. The center fielder took a giant leap forward in 2022 from relative unknown to top 100 prospect in all of baseball. Rafaela finished last season in 96th place. He starts 2023 at the age of 86. He also displayed superior defense at second base and third base. Electric offensively, posting a 20-20 season in 2022, Raffaella possesses an excellent combination of speed and power that makes him an invaluable prospect for Boston.
Finally, we have rookie Miguel Blais, who officially made his debut on the top 100 prospect list. The player was ranked 93rd. Blais in 2022 Despite being 18 years old and yet to play above rookie ball, Blais is already above average in all categories. If anyone is going to climb the list at an alarming rate, it’s him.
Individual team top 30 lists have not been released yet, so we don’t have a clear ranking of where everyone ranks in the Boston Red Sox organization, according to MLB. You can imagine they won’t be too far from where things ended in 2022. However, we already know there will be at least one change. Second baseman Nick York finished fourth in the system, one spot ahead of Blais. Clearly, Blais has jumped him in the rankings.
York has a chance to return to the top 100 (where he once ranked) with a strong year. His 2022 was plagued by injuries, but the talent is there. Beyond that, there are several other strong options to consider in the top 100 if they produce in 2023, led by shortstop Mikey Romero.
For now, though, the Red Sox have a strong presence on the top 100 prospect list, so fans can, for now, feel optimistic about what’s to come.
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