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‘The ceiling is high’: Red Sox promote top prospect Marcelo Mayer to Double-A Portland
Mayer, selected fourth overall in 2021, was the team's highest draft pick since 1967.
The Celtics lost to the Heat 103-84 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday, falling short of the 3-0 series comeback at the final hurdle.
The Heat now move on to face the Nuggets in the NBA Finals.
The Red Sox also lost on Sunday, dropping the finale of a three-game series against the Diamondbacks, 4-2. Boston begins a new three-game set against the Reds at Fenway Park tonight at 7:10 p.m.
Marcelo Mayer’s promotion: In 2021, the Red Sox held the No. 4 overall selection in the MLB draft, the team’s highest pick since 1967.
Boston used it to draft shortstop Marcelo Mayer, an 18-year-old with immense potential.
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Since being picked, Mayer has spent time in the lower part of the Red Sox minor league system as he acclimates to the rigors of the professional game.
In 2023, he hit .290 with an .890 OPS (and seven home runs) in High-A minor league baseball with Boston’s Greenville affiliate. This includes a recent stretch in which Mayer has been particularly prolific, batting .321 in May with six home runs and a .998 OPS.
The result is that the Red Sox are promoting Mayer to Double-A Portland on Tuesday, as first reported by Alex Speier of The Boston Globe.
At just 20, Mayer is the youngest Red Sox draftee to reach Double-A since Anthony Rizzo and Casey Kelly in 2009.
His coaches and Red Sox executives have had nothing but praise for the emerging prospect.
“The ceiling is high and his ability to make adjustments, his ability to learn, and to improve — he’s not slowing down,” Red Sox director of hitting development Jason Ochart said of Mayer, per Speier. “He’s already got above big-league average bat speed and he still has room to develop physically. He’s going to keep learning his approach and learning how to be a hitter. He’s really, really special.”
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Standing at 6-foot-2-inches and capable of making plays both at the plate and in the field, the current No. 1 Red Sox prospect — who had not been projected to move to Double-A so quickly — seems to be progressing ahead of schedule.
Trivia: Who is the most recent Red Sox first-round pick to be named an MLB All-Star?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: He was drafted in 2015 but is no longer with Boston.
More from Boston.com:
- Celtics’ season comes to an abrupt, painful end: 9 takeaways from Game 7
- Jaylen Brown: ‘We failed. I failed. We let the whole city down’
- Celtics’ Jayson Tatum on impact of ankle injury in Game 7 loss to Heat: ‘I was kind of like a shell of myself’
- ‘They play bad basketball’: Charles Barkley and other former NBA players rip Celtics after Game 7 loss on home court to Heat
- Jayson Tatum wants the Celtics to give Jaylen Brown his contract extension: ‘It’s extremely important’
- Golden Knights advance to 2nd Stanley Cup Final after win over Stars
- The Celtics’ run through the Eastern Conference finals is over after falling apart in Game 7 loss to Heat
- Watch: David Ortiz and Julian Edelman narrate epic Celtics hype video
A Celtics offseason primer: Disappointing as the ending of the season was, Boston will now face some decisions in the coming months.
On this day: In 2015, Lionel Messi scored one of the greatest goals of his career in the Copa del Rey final as Barcelona defeated Atletico Bilbao 3-1.
Daily highlight: Quinn McCahon helped Notre Dame win the men’s lacrosse national championship on Sunday (defeating Duke 13-9) with a perfectly placed long range goal.
Trivia answer: Andrew Benintendi
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