Roman Anthony, shown while a player in high school in 2022, is working his way up the Red Sox farm system. Michael Laughlin/South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Do the Boston Red Sox have another Triston Casas type of hitter nearing the big leagues?
Roman Anthony, a 19-year-old center fielder, made his way up to the Portland Sea Dogs at the Double-A level after impressive stops in Low-A Salem and High-A Greenville in his first full professional season in 2023.
Casas, as a major league rookie in 2023, finished in the 93rd percentile among qualified major league hitters in walk percentage (13.9%), the 86th percentile in chase percentage (22.1%), and the 92nd percentile in expected weighted on-base percentage (.370). He takes such pride in commanding the strike zone that he even screamed and flipped his bat after drawing a 14-pitch walk against the Rays at Tropicana Field in April.
Anthony had an excellent 17.5% walk percentage (86 walks, 491 plate appearances) last year. His .403 on-base percentage was second among Red Sox minor leaguers (minimum 395 at-bats and 100 games), behind only Chase Meidroth (.408).
“Not to say he’s a patient, passive hitter,” said Iggy Suarez, Greenville’s manager and a former player with the Sea Dogs. “I think he just has a really good knowledge of the strike zone. And if you come into the strike zone, he’s going to get his A swing off.”
Anthony certainly has shown advanced pitch recognition skills, like Casas, who posted the highest on-base percentage (.367) among rookies with at least 400 at-bats.
“You see that approach and then you see how old he is and it’s crazy, because it’s a veteran-like approach,” Suarez said. “And this kid’s barely 19 years old. I look at him and I’m like, ‘I’m so jealous, man. Man, you’re so lucky.’ Then I’m like, ‘I’m so happy you’re on our side.’”
Anthony is selectively aggressive. He does a good job of swinging at pitches he knows he can drive and laying off the pitches he can’t. He might get his pitch early in the count. He has the ability to wait for it and take his walks if it doesn’t come.
“It’s something I’ve taken pride in my whole life,” Anthony said in September. “Swinging at good pitches, getting good pitches to hit. Being aggressive but having controlled aggression at the plate has always been a huge thing for me. I feel like I’ve always done a good job since I was younger at getting the pitch that I’m looking for. Selecting a zone in the box that I’m looking for and really honing in on that until maybe two strikes. But doing a good job at being aggressive with that early. If I get that pitch, trying not to miss it early.”
With two strikes, he’s doing whatever he can to put the ball in play.
“But early in the count, just knowing where I’m good at in the zone and knowing what I can do damage with and what I do damage with very well,” he said. “And going up there with an approach. Every pitcher is different. You get different heat zones on different guys for different pitches. But for the most part, just trying to simplify it and do what I know how to do best. Just picking a spot early and sticking to that. Sometimes you’re not always going to get that spot you’re looking for. But just living and dying by that approach. And then when it’s two strikes, it just kind of game on.”
Suarez also mentioned that Anthony is a leader. The Red Sox already have talked so much about top prospect Marcelo Mayer’s leadership skills. Perhaps their top two prospects both have that ability.
“To be able to see that kind of approach and patience, and knowing there’s a way he goes about his business, it’s very veteran-like,” Suarez said. “It’s that leadership quality. He’s not a rah-rah type of guy. He’s going to get down to business and get his work in. Again, you see how young he is and you’re like, ‘Man, he’s just getting started.’ He’s putting himself on the map big-time now with that (approach).”
SoxProspects.com recently moved Anthony into Boston’s No. 1 prospect spot ahead of Mayer. Both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline still rank Mayer No. 1 and Anthony No. 2. Baseball America ranks Anthony No. 19 overall among MLB prospects on its Top 100 list.
“I don’t think it’s patient. He’s aggressive,” Suarez said. “But he just knows where the strike zone is. And it’s only going to get better. As you go up in levels, the pitching is going to get a little bit better, the stuff is going to get better. He’s going to learn a lot more and he’s only going to get better.”
ROOKIE CAMP: Nearly a dozen of the best prospects in the Red Sox organization will be coming to Boston next month for the team’s rookie development program.
Invited to take part: Marcelo Mayer, Chase Meidroth, Nick Yorke, Roman Anthony, Nathan Hickey, Kyle Teel, Isaiah Campbell, Richard Fitts, Wikelman Gonzalez, Luis Perales and Justin Slaten.
Traditionally, the Red Sox invite players who could be in Boston in the relatively near future. That would seem not to apply to the likes of Gonzalez (21 years old) and Perales (20), who are, nonetheless, the organization’s two top starting pitching prospects.
Three of the participants – Campbell, Fitts and Slaten – are new to the organization this winter. Campbell was acquired from Seattle in the trade that sent Luis Urias to the Mariners. Fitts was part of the return package the Red Sox acquired from the Yankees in exchange for Alex Verdugo. Slaten was obtained from the New York Mets soon after the Rule 5 draft earlier this month.
WITH A WAIVER pickup, the Yankees brought in Jeter Downs. After acquiring Alex Verdugo from the Red Sox earlier this month, the addition of Downs means the Yankees now have two of the three players sent to Boston in the 2020 Mookie Betts trade. Only Connor Wong remains with the Red Sox.
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