January’s arrival can mean only one thing around these parts: it’s time to rank minor-league prospects. Every team across the majors is selling hope to their fans: some are selling it in a more immediate fashion, in the form of active offseasons full of free-agent signings and trade acquisitions. Others, meanwhile, are selling it in the personage of prospects who could make the difference over the coming years.
CBS Sports will spend the next month examining the top three prospects in each organization. Our definition of “prospect” is simple: does that player have rookie eligibility remaining for the 2025 season? If so, they’re a prospect; if not, that’s probably why your favorite young player is absent from the proceedings.
As always, these lists are formed following conversations with scouts, analysts, player development specialists, and other talent evaluators around the industry. There’s a fair amount of firsthand evaluation, statistical analysis, and historical research mixed in, too. Plus a heaping of personal bias — we all have certain traits and profiles that we prefer over others; there’s no sense pretending otherwise.
Keep in mind that there’s no one right answer with these sorts of things. Besides, these are merely our opinions, meaning they have no actual bearing on the future. We already published our ranking of the top 25 prospects in all of the minors.
With all that out of the way, let’s get 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 working in his favor. He won’t celebrate his 21st birthday until the summer, yet he’s already authored 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 his in-zone contact percentage, line up with those posted by James Wood and Junior Caminero; his chase rate, meanwhile, was superior to both. (Wood and Caminero subsequently hit well in the majors.) If there’s an area where Anthony could obviously stand to improve, it has to be with respect to pulling the ball in the air. He has immense raw strength, the kind that could eventually result in 30-plus homers annually; it’s eyebrow-raising, then, that he pulled just 4% of his Triple-A fly balls (the MLB average last season was over 9%). This ranking is a bet on Anthony’s youth and talent allowing him to figure out that component over the coming years. Even without it, he’s a high-quality prospect nearing arrival. MLB ETA: Spring 2025
2. Kristian Campbell, SS/2B/CF
Top 25 ranking: No. 3
The short hook: The breakout prospect of the year
Campbell has greatly boosted his stock since being drafted in the fourth round during summer 2023. He trained his bat speed over the winter, empowering him to launch 20 home runs last year after smoking only four during his single season at Georgia Tech. Campbell’s added muscle gives him a well-rounded game: he has a good feel for contact and the zone alike; he’s an above-average runner; and the Red Sox continue to play him at shortstop, albeit while giving him looks elsewhere on the diamond, too. Campbell already has the appearance of being a draft-day steal. Expect him to continue to enhance that perception in 2025, likely while spending a lot of time in the majors. MLB ETA: Spring 2025
Top 25 ranking: No. 10
The short hook: Talented shortstop with durability concerns
Unavailability has become the theme of Mayer’s professional career. He’s still yet to play in 100 games in a season, having missed most of the second half of 2024 on account of a lumbar strain that prevented him from making his Triple-A debut. Mayer had a good year when he was hearty and hale, 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. That makes for a good prospect, albeit one with a spotty health track record. MLB ETA: Summer 2025
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