One step from MLB, Anthony leads Sox prospects into Spring Breakout

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Roman Anthony, all of 20 years old, towers around the Red Sox Spring Training complex at 6-foot-3 and roughly 220 pounds.

He carries himself with confidence, but not cockiness. The left-handed-hitting outfielder knows he belongs on a baseball field, because that¡¯s where he¡¯s always felt at home, dating back to his days as a kid in West Palm Beach, Fla.

¡°I think ever since I was a little kid, I was pretty good,¡± said Anthony. ¡°As I got closer to high school, it became a little bit more real, and then I hit a pretty big growth spurt my sophomore year going into my junior year and even into my senior year. So I was always a good ballplayer. I wasn't ever the top-ranked guy or anything like that. But for me, it was just day-to-day growth.¡±

That day-to-day growth -- as a player and a person -- now has him being very close to that top-ranked guy he mentioned never being.

As the No. 2 prospect in MLB Pipeline¡¯s Top 100 (who will move to the top spot once prized Dodgers Japanese pitching acquisition Roki Sasaki graduates), Anthony projects as the next homegrown Red Sox star, though he has competition from his own farm system in No. 7 Pipeline prospect Kristian Campbell and No. 12 prospect Marcelo Mayer.

Already, throughout Red Sox Nation, they are known as the Big 3. The trio will play together in the starting lineup in Thursday night¡¯s Spring Breakout game, which pits Boston¡¯s top prospects against the best of Tampa Bay¡¯s farm system in Port Charlotte.

Though Anthony -- with a sweet swing at the plate and graceful movement on the bases and in the field -- is the youngest of the prized three, you¡¯d never know it from his demeanor.

¡°Definitely mature beyond his years, really good approach at the plate,¡± Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman said of Anthony. ¡°He can obviously hit the ball really hard, but also has a good strike zone and takes his walks. I think he¡¯s going to be an elite hitter in the game.¡±

Triston Casas, a voracious student of hitting and fellow left-handed hitter from South Florida, can¡¯t help but think the same.

¡°It's a really powerful swing,¡± said Casas. ¡°He generates so much force into the ground. He stays so balanced. He can swing 100 percent and hold his ground the whole time. He's one of the best athletes in this locker room for sure, and maybe in all of baseball. That¡¯s why he¡¯s one of the top prospects in the game, and his development in the outfield is moving pretty quickly, too.¡±

It has all moved quickly for Anthony since the Red Sox snatched him up as the 79th overall pick in the 2022 Draft. Anthony was an 18-year-old fresh out of a powerhouse school (Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.) when he was drafted on the recommendation of Willie Romay, Boston¡¯s South Florida area scout who was responsible for the signing of Casas four years earlier.

By the end of ¡®23, Anthony was already playing for Double-A Portland. By August of last season, Anthony made the jump to Triple-A Worcester, just one stop from the Major Leagues, where he slashed .344/.463/.519 in 35 games.

Though the toughest level of pitching Anthony has faced is likely to come at some point this spring or summer, there¡¯s a track record that suggests he will continue to elevate his game along with the competition.

¡°I think he's got a solid understanding of what he's trying to do every single time he swings the bat. There's no wasted reps,¡± said Casas. ¡°And then once he gets out of [the cage], he can explain exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it, most importantly.¡±

Campbell and other prospects marvel at the way Anthony handles himself through the rigors of professional baseball.

¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if he had a really good or bad day. You¡¯re always going to get the same Roman every day,¡± Campbell said.

How does Anthony stay so steady?

¡°I think it¡¯s just the fact that I get to play baseball every day and I have a blast doing it,¡± said Anthony. ¡°I try not to ride the wave at all. Good day or bad day, I know that there's always going to be tomorrow, and I can learn from it.¡±

And then there is this:

¡°I never really put any expectations on myself. So I didn't really expect to be somewhere at a certain time or tell myself I have to do this, or I have to do that,¡± Anthony said. ¡°And I think that's helped the most. I think for me, obviously, the goal is to get to the big leagues as fast as I can. I have 100 percent belief in myself in my ability to do that.¡±