The list now includes four Red Sox prospects.
While things are not going well for the big league team right now, who is watching a playoff spot slip away, there is a little bit of a silver lining down on the farm. The Red Sox farm system has been getting deeper for a couple of years now, but they are suddenly starting to add the top-end talent that has been absent for the last few seasons. And with the minor-league season coming to a close for many leagues within the week, Baseball America on Monday released their last major update to their top 100 for the season. The list includes four Red Sox prospects.
At the top of the list is still Triston Casas, who is ranked 15th in baseball between Mets catching prospect Francisco Alvarez and Nationals pitching prospect Cade Cavalli. The highlight of Casas’ season would probably be his time with Team USA, when he was a major part of their silver medal run at the Olympics. He’s also been red-hot for Portland to close out this season, and could get a push up to Worcester to finish the year. (Worcester plays a couple extra weeks compared to Portland.)
Coming in second for the Red Sox is their newest prospect Marcelo Mayer. The 2021 first rounder is number 29 on this list, coming in between Arizona outfield prospect Corbin Carroll and Arizona 2021 first rounder and shortstop Jordan Lawlar. Mayer was seen as many by the top prospect in the draft this year, but he slipped to Boston at number four. He’s still getting his feet wet at the complex, but the early returns have been positive.
Less than 10 spots down the list we find Jarren Duran, who comes in at number 37. He’s ranked between Twins utility man Austin Martin and Cardinals infielder Jordan Walker. For the first half of the season, Duran was the most exciting prospect in the system. But he got promoted to the majors in August and like other top prospects around the league this year he’s struggled to make that adjustment on the fly. Currently he’s on the COVID list.
And finally, the biggest riser on this list among Red Sox prospects is Nick Yorke. He was just added to the list in the 90s within the last month or so, but in this update he comes in at number 64 between Nationals infielder Brady House and Pirates infielder Nick Gonzales. Yorke was a surprise first rounder last year, but he’s making the Red Sox scouting department look like geniuses with his performance this year. While there are still some questions defensively, he looks like an all-around hitter with an approach well beyond his years. A recent promotion to High-A posed no problems, and actually saw him add a bit more power.