The arrival of January can only mean one thing around these parts: It’s time to rank minor league prospects. Every team in the majors sells hope to its fans: Some sell it more immediately, in the form of active offseasons full of free agent signings and trade acquisitions. Others, meanwhile, sell it in the form of leads that could make a difference in the years to come.
CBS Sports will spend the next month examining each organization’s top three prospects. Our definition of “prospect” is simple: does this player still have eligibility as a rookie for the 2025 season? If so, it’s a prospect; if not, that’s probably why your favorite young player is missing from the proceedings.
As always, these lists are compiled through conversations with scouts, analysts, player development specialists and other industry talent evaluators. There is also a good amount of first-hand assessments, statistical analysis and historical research. Plus a bunch of personal biases: we all have certain traits and profiles that we prefer over others; it makes no sense to pretend otherwise.
Keep in mind that there is no right answer to this stuff. Furthermore, these are just our opinions, which means they have no real bearing on the future. We have already published our ranking of the 25 best prospects in all minors.
With all that out of the way, let’s move on to ranking the top three prospects in the Boston Red Sox system.
Top 25 ranking: No. 1
The short hook: Accomplished young outfielder with room to grow
Anthony has a lot of things working in his favor. He won’t turn 21 until the summer, but he’s already put together an impressive 35-game stretch in Triple-A, during which he recorded a .983 OPS and a walk for every strikeout. His advanced metrics, including his 90th percentile exit velocity and zone contact percentage, match those posted by James Wood and Junior Caminero; its prosecution rate, meanwhile, was higher than both. (Wood and Caminero went on to hit well in the majors.) If there’s one area where Anthony could obviously improve, it has to be in terms of shooting the ball in the air. He has immense raw strength, the kind that could possibly result in 30+ home runs per year; so it’s surprising that he only hit 4% of his Triple-A flyballs (the MLB the average last season was above 9%). This ranking is a bet on Anthony’s youth and talent which will allow him to understand this component in the years to come. Even without that, there’s still a high-quality prospect on the way. MLB ET: Spring 2025
2. Kristian Campbell, SS/2B/CF
Ranking Top 25: n°3
The short hook: The breakout prospect of the year
Campbell has increased his stock significantly since being drafted in the fourth round during the summer of 2023. He trained his bat speed over the winter, allowing him to launch 20 home runs last year after in having smoked just four during his lone season at Georgia Tech. Campbell’s extra muscle gives him a complete game: he has good feel for contact and zone; he is an above average runner; and the Red Sox continue to play him at shortstop, while also giving him looks elsewhere on the diamond. Campbell already has the appearance of being a steal of the draft. Expect him to continue improving that perception in 2025, likely while spending significant time in the majors. MLB ET: Spring 2025
Ranking Top 25: n°10
The short hook: Talented shortstop with durability issues
Unavailability became the theme of Mayer’s professional career. He has yet to play 100 games in a season, having missed most of the second half of 2024 with a lumbar strain that kept him from making his Triple-A debut. Mayer had a good year where he was hearty and healthy, nearly matching Roman Anthony’s OPS at Double-A. He’s added strength (and swing and miss) since being drafted in 2021, and he continues to be an effective shortstop with more quickness than straight line speed. This is a good prospect, even if his health record is spotty. MLB ET: Summer 2025
