4 Red Sox Prospects Primed for Promotions This Year

3. Marcelo Mayer

Mayer was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft out of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, Calif. Adrian Gonzalez, who played for the Red Sox from 2011-12, attended the same high school. Mayer's arrival at the big league level has been long awaited by Red Sox fans.

Mayer has played the entire 2024 season with Double-A Portland, hitting .308/.371/.482 with eight home runs and 38 RBI while swiping 13 bags in 76 games. When Mayer was promoted to Portland last season, he was the youngest Sox prospect to earn a call-up to Double-A since 2009. His youth was evident in his 43 games after being called up, as Mayer struggled with a .189 batting average. His ability to bounce back this season has come as a welcome development and admittedly, a sigh of relief.

There have been questions about where Mayer positions defensively long-term, but the 21-year-old has played shortstop almost exclusively in Portland.

In the most recent iteration of his top 60 prospect rankings, Keith Law of The Athletic ranked Mayer as the second-best prospect in all of baseball, behind only Jackson Holliday of the Baltimore Orioles. Law writes:

"Mayer has been hitting all season, but he’s had even better results in June and so far in July, even with some continued trouble with sliders down and in or below the zone. He’s still a plus defender at short and making a ton of hard contact, coming into the plus power that scouts foresaw from him back when he was the top prospect in the 2021 draft."

- Keith Law of The Athletic

Law continues to state that he doesn't expect Mayer to see Fenway Park this season, but as was mentioned earlier, Boston's place in the standings could help dictate this decision. If the Red Sox continue to falter in the second half and are out of playoff contention, Boston's front office could elect to get Mayer some September MLB at-bats.