The Red Sox continued to have much to celebrate during the Top Prospect List season as Boston dropped another Top 100 prospect with four.
Keith Law’s Top 100 For The Athletic Incorporated rankings from Baseball America and the MLB pipeline to come out in January.
Like the MLB pipeline, Law did not consider Masataka Yoshida, the Red Sox free agent signee from Japan, as a prospect. The other four top 100 entrants were similar, but landed in a different order.
Marcelo Meyer, the Red Sox top prospect and projected future star at shortstop, jumped from No. 18 to No. 11 on Law’s list, landing him in the same game as Baseball America (No. 11) and Pipeline (No. 9).
In Law is the sedan Raffaella, which didn’t rank higher last year than either of the other two lists. Rafaela, who could play center field, second base or shortstop on the road, is a plus defender in each of those spots and is a terrific fastball hitter, especially for someone as small as she is (5-foot-8, 152 Listed in pounds) ). Law, like everyone else, questions Rafaela’s willingness to swing at everything. Law saw the low floor for Rafaela:
,Rafaela swings first and asks questions later, with a very quick bat and excellent bat control that helps her make contact on pitches out of the region, although it also leads to very weak contact on those same pitches. … His defense is elite and he’s also a 70 runner, so he doesn’t need to hit that much to be a solid big league player, and he’s a low-OBP, 20+ homer as an above average regular. Maybe a boy.”
BA and in the pipeline are Tristan Cass, whom Law ranked No. 40, higher than Rafaela. Cass is Boston’s likely starter at first base in 2023 and will quickly find himself out of a possible position. Law wrote:
“He projects as an above average or better regular at first base and he’s ready to work at Fenway right now, but he doesn’t have a big tool, no 80 power or elite defense and certainly He’s patient, disciplined, and feels great to hit, with tough contact that has produced a ton of doubles so far, though there’s no real reason to think he’ll be able to hit those. Cannot put balls over the fence.,
At 72, Law has a BA (No. 88) and even more Michael Bliss in the MLB pipeline (93). The 19-year-old is 6-foot-3 with power, 170 pounds. Law wrote:
“Bless is still growing in his frame, but shows exceptional ability to handle the bat, with great power and the ability to make lots of hard contact, and has a chance to finish above-average on every tool. He’s an excellent athlete.” depending on how he fills out and whether he remains an above average runner.
