The Boston Red Sox promoted outfielder Roman Anthony to the majors, the group introduced Monday. Anthony was within the beginning lineup in opposition to the Tampa Bay Rays, batting fifth and manning proper subject. Wilyer Abreu landed on the injured listing with an indirect pressure.
In Boston’s eventual 10-8 loss in extras, Anthony went 0 for 4 with a stroll and a strikeout earlier than being lifted for pinch-hitter Rob Refsnyder within the backside of the eleventh. Anthony did notch a hard-hit ball — a 111.2 mph liner off of Shane Baz that was transformed into an out. He additionally recorded his first profession RBI with a ninth-inning ground-out. In all, he left 4 runners on base.
Within the subject, Anthony made what turned out to be a essential miscue within the subject with this fifth-inning error:
Anthony, 21, entered the spring ranked by CBS Sports as the No. 1 prospect in the minors. He is carried out nothing to vary that standing. In his first 58 Triple-A video games this 12 months, he hit .288/.423/.491 with 10 dwelling runs, three stolen bases, and practically as many walks as strikeouts (51 versus 56).
Roman Anthony promoted to majors: What to know about baseball’s top prospect ahead of MLB debut with Red Sox
R.J. Anderson
We not too long ago covered Anthony’s season to date and tried to divine what, exactly, must change for him to obtain the decision:
Anthony, my preseason No. 1, continues to bully Triple-A pitchers. Coming into Wednesday, he has hit .321/.453/.518 with seven dwelling runs, 10 extra extra-base hits, and practically as many walks as strikeouts — all that regardless of being extraordinarily younger (by greater than 5 years) for Triple-A. His common exit velocity in opposition to right-handed pitching thus far, and I need to stress that I do imply common, is over 97 mph.
Why is not Anthony up? The Purple Sox proceed to withstand the urge to play Anthony at first base, leaving him with out a clear entry level to the big-league roster. Rafael Devers is entrenched because the designated hitter, and each Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu have carried out their elements within the corners. That leaves heart subject because the lifelike pathway, however even then, Boston could purpose that Ceddanne Rafaela’s elite protection is value tolerating his bat. I do assume that, at some indeterminable level, the Purple Sox must make a extra environment friendly use of their personnel by placing Anthony or Abreu on the chilly nook. If and/or after they attain that conclusion is anybody’s guess, but I am together with Anthony anyway as a result of he is a violent sneeze away from The Present.
Abreu, 25, hit .245/.321/.471 (118 OPS+) with 13 dwelling runs and 4 stolen bases in 64 video games earlier than his damage. His contributions had been value 1.7 Wins Above Alternative, in keeping with Baseball Reference’s calculations. The Purple Sox supplied no timetable on Abreu, nevertheless it’s value noting that Baseball Prospectus’ database suggests indirect strains are inclined to price gamers 5 weeks on common. That does not imply Abreu might be sidelined for that lengthy, in fact, as each damage is exclusive in their very own approach.
With the loss to the Rays, the fourth-place Purple Sox dropped to 32-36 on the season.