More Red Sox prospects thrive on big stage
Sandlin (7 K's), Romero (HR) excel in Futures at Fenway South game
Ian Browne
@IanMBrowneFORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Big 3 of Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer had their shining moment Thursday night in a Spring Breakout contest, as all three members of the highly touted trio went deep like it was on a script.
However, the Futures at Fenway South event on Friday afternoon provided a chance for some other key prospects to showcase their stuff on the main diamond.
Two, in particular, stood out.
Hard-throwing right-hander David Sandlin (the club’s No. 9 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline) looked like a man who had a hearty breakfast, striking out seven Twins Minor Leaguers over 2 2/3 innings.
Then there was infielder Mikey Romero, the team’s No. 11 prospect and first-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, ripping a two-run homer to dead center field to fuel his team’s 6-4 victory.
Business is booming these days in the Boston farm system, ranked third of MLB’s 30 organizations by Pipeline.
“I feel like with our organization, there could be like a Big 40. We have so many studs,” said Romero. “Our organization is so good, and we have such a deep organization, even beyond our Top 30, We have a great organization as a whole.”
Romero, who is close in particular to Mayer, was asked whether there are any internal jokes about the Big 3 getting all the attention.
“There's no jokes about that. … [Well], there's a couple jokes,” Romero said. “But you know, obviously, those guys are great. And they’re not walking around like, ‘We’re the Big 3.’ That’s a thing that the fans are all in on. We all hang out. It’s pretty cool.”
Thirteen months ago, Sandlin joined the Red Sox in a somewhat surprising move at the time, given that Boston sent key reliever John Schreieber to Kansas City to complete the trade.
While getting traded for the first time is jarring for any prospect, Sandlin is feeling excellent about it a year later.
“I’m glad that it happened,” Sandlin said. “I’m very happy with where I’m at here now. The farm system is very special and I’m really excited to be a part of it.”
The position players are hotter commodities than the pitchers in Boston’s farm system, and it has been that way for a few years. But Sandlin offers hope of someone who can join homegrown arms like Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford at some point on the Major League roster.
“He has an electric heater,” Romero said of Sandlin. “Pretty intense on the mound. He goes out there and he tries to throw his best stuff. And when he does, no one can hit it. He’ll make an impact at the big league level.”
While a video of Sandlin throwing a 101 mph heater in an indoor batting cage went viral over the winter, the righty topped out at 99 on Friday, mainly sitting at 95, according to scouts.
“[Red Sox director of pitching Justin] Willard has messed with me and some of the other guys [about the video],” Sandlin said. “He was like, ‘It's the offseason, so it doesn't matter until it happens out here. And then that's when it really counts.'”
Romero, who also played in the Spring Breakout game, has also been called up to play for the Red Sox in four Grapefruit League games, going 4-for-6.
About 10 days ago, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was asked which prospect had impressed him most outside of the Big 3. His answer was Romero.
“I saw that,” Romero said. “It was awesome to have AC talk about me and mention me as a player he saw. I thought that was pretty cool. When your big league manager is talking about you, that's awesome. It's a great feeling. And I was pretty stoked.”
Sandlin spoke for many of the organization’s Minor Leaguers with this:
“The farm system is very special, and I’m really excited to be a part of it,” Sandlin said.