The Boston Red Sox enter June in need of a lift. Stuck at 29-32, the Red Sox are 8.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East. A three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels may bring an opportunity to get back into the race, and it sounds like the perfect time to call up Roman Anthony.
The No. 1 prospect in baseball has been tearing the cover off the ball at Triple-A Worcester, hitting .303/.492/.492 with eight homers and 23 RBI entering Monday’s action. But president of baseball operations Craig Breslow has pushed back against the idea to bring up the 20-year-old citing his long-term development.
Anthony remains in Worcester as the series begins, but it’s starting to get embarrassing. That is even more so after a big major league call-up that turns all of the attention toward the Red Sox.
Jac Caglianone’s Call Up Puts Pressure on Red Sox to Promote Roman Anthony
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Kansas City Royals are calling up top prospect Roman Anthony ahead of this week’s series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Caglianone is currently the No. 10 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, but was likely to climb the list after crushing the minor leagues in his first professional season.
Caglianone was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft and immediately started raking in the Royals organization. He hit .322/.394/.553 with nine homers and 43 RBI in 38 games with Double-A Northwest Arkansas to begin the season and hit .319/.370/.723 with six homers and 13 RBI in 12 games after a promotion to Triple-A Omaha.
While Caglianone isn’t a finished product at first base, the Royals are willing to let him figure it out at the major league level due to his success at the plate. It’s a big boost for a team that is 31-29 and eight games back of the Detroit Tigers for first place in the American League Central, but ranks 29th in the majors in runs scored and last with 34 home runs.
It’s a damning contrast compared to what’s going on in Boston. Anthony is raking at the same level as Caglianone was in the minors but can’t crack the Boston lineup even as Ceddanne Rafaela struggles at the plate. While Rafaela is a better defender with 10 defensive runs saved this season, Anthony has no more to prove at the minor league level, leaving him as the graduated senior that still hangs around his high school.
Breslow and the Red Sox seem hellbent on not calling up Anthony until he’s “ready,” but his stubbornness is throwing the season out the window. While there’s four months to go, Boston could use Anthony in the same way the Royals could use Caglianone.