It’s been an infuriating week for many Red Sox fans, so it feels like a perfect time to dive into how the farm system has started in 2024. All eyes will be on the Big 3 of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, and Kyle Teel since their development is at the heart of the organization’s next competitive window. The trio has turned the Portland Sea Dog into almost must-watch TV after Baseball America ranked them as the second most talented team throughout the minors.
Entering 2024, the Red Sox had taken a step back in farm system rankings with the likes of Triston Casas graduating, Marcelo Mayer and Miguel Bleis’ both enduring injury riddled seasons, and the lack of pitching prospects becoming more apparent. Baseball America placed them 13th on their organizational rankings and MLB Pipeline was one spot lower at 14, with both featuring 4 entries on their Top 100 prospects list. Keith Law was the highest on the Red Sox farmhands, as he ranked them at 8 and showed a lot more love to Ceddanne Rafaela than other publications.
There isn’t a huge sample size for any of the guys mentioned below, so I wouldn’t formulate any significant takeaways from the results so far. Yet, if certain guys like Mayer were off to a slow start, you’d be hearing about it rather quickly. So, let’s check-in on the future of the franchise and whether there’s a reason for fans to be hopeful moving forward.