Anthony, Campbell, Mayer -- Red Sox Big 3 -- go yard in Spring Breakout

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Under the lights of Charlotte Sports Park, all three members of Boston¡¯s vaunted ¡°Big 3¡± prospects went deep, announcing their presence in a Spring Breakout contest against the Rays¡¯ prospects.

Thursday¡¯s primetime contest was the first of the many games that will take place in the second annual showcase event across Florida and Arizona over the next four days.

Roman Anthony (MLB Pipeline¡¯s top positional prospect), Kristian Campbell (No. 7 overall prospect) and Marcelo Mayer (No. 12) got the festivities off to a flying start and made it a night to remember, even as the Red Sox prospects took a 7-5 loss.

Aside from being the three standout prospects in the Red Sox system, they are also best friends.

Following the game, they took a series of photos together, reveling in their joint success.

¡°I think any time we get to play together, it's enjoyable,¡± said Anthony. ¡°So it¡¯s fun. It was good. Honestly, more than just the three of us, playing with these guys we don't get to play with every day, and seeing some of these guys, seeing some of the young talent we have, the guys at the lower levels, it's exciting.¡±

Campbell brought some noise with two outs in the top of the third inning. The right-handed hitter showed easy, opposite-field power by ripping a two-run homer over the wall in right-center off Rays No. 11 prospect Trevor Harrison.

¡°Gap to gap,¡± said Campell. ¡°That¡¯s my power, is going gap to gap, to the big part of the field. Just try to hit the ball hard and in the air and good things happen.¡±

¡°I¡¯ve seen that before,¡± interjected Anthony.

Mayer was the next hitter after Campbell and he smashed a solo shot to right on the second pitch by Harrison.

¡°Hitting home runs is always good,¡± Mayer said. ¡°I was just trying to put a ball in play and hit it hard. But yeah, it's pretty cool to see these two guys go deep as well.¡±

Without question, it was Anthony who went the deepest. The outfielder provided the grand finale in the top of the fifth with a missile that landed on top of the roof beyond the right-field fence.

While Charlotte Sports Park doesn¡¯t have Statcast, executives from both teams cited an exit velocity of roughly 110 mph and a projected distance of close to 435 feet on the moonshot by Anthony.

Perhaps that shouldn¡¯t come as that big of a surprise considering that Anthony mauled a homer on July 31 of last season for Double-A Portland that had an exit velocity of 116 mph.

Making this blast even more impressive is that Anthony is just getting over a stomach flu that took 10 pounds off his sturdy frame.

¡°I just lost 10 pounds, so who knows what would have happened if I didn¡¯t,¡± said Anthony. ¡°It might have been harder than the one I hit last year.¡±

Adding some comedic value was the fact that one spectator continually shouted ¡°overrated¡± each time Anthony came to the plate during Thursday¡¯s game.

¡°It¡¯s not the first time I've heard that this spring,¡± Anthony said. ¡°So it¡¯s always funny to hear that. That¡¯s part of it.¡±

Anthony, Campbell and Mayer have received nonstop attention in Red Sox Nation over the last couple of years. Each member of the trio has an ETA of this season to make it to the Major Leagues.

Campbell is in competition to be the starting second baseman for the Red Sox on Opening Day.

Mayer, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 Draft, also made a sweet play at shortstop in the bottom of the third inning, fielding a slow roller by Carson Williams and firing to first for the out.

¡°As a shortstop, you need to pride yourself in defense and making the play almost every single time,¡± Mayer said. ¡°So my job out there is just to help the pitcher as much as possible. So any time the ball is hit to me, I expect to make the play.¡±

The left-handed hitter is likely to start the ¡¯25 season at Triple-A, the only level he¡¯s yet to play at in the Minors.

While the 20-year-old Anthony is the youngest of the group, his swing is one of the sweetest in the Minor Leagues, as he showcased with his towering shot.

¡°That was sick,¡± said Campbell. ¡°From the get-go, we all felt really excited to be out here playing.¡±