Red Sox to promote top prospect Marcelo Mayer to Double-A Portland

The Red Sox are promoting top prospect Marcelo Mayer from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

Mayer will join the Sea Dogs in New Jersey this week for their upcoming series against the Somerset Patriots, the Double-A affiliate of the Yankees. The 20-year-old shortstop would then be on track to make his Hadlock Field debut on June 6, when the Sea Dogs return home to host the Akron RubberDucks (Guardians affiliate) in the first of a six-game set.

The promotion comes at a time when Mayer has been absolutely raking with Greenville. In 18 games with the Drive this month, the left-handed hitter has slashed a stout .321/.357/.641 with seven doubles, six home runs, 23 RBIs, 14 runs scored, two stolen bases, four walks, and 17 strikeouts over 84 plate appearances.

On the 2023 campaign as a whole, Mayer has batted .290/.366/.524 with 11 doubles, one triple, seven homers, 34 runs driven in, 23 runs scored, five stolen bases, 17 walks, and 34 strikeouts in 35 games (164 plate appearances) for Greenville. He missed some time earlier this month due to some left shoulder soreness, but now appears to be fully healthy.

Among qualified hitters in the South Atlantic League, Mayer currently ranks 15th in batting average, 11th in slugging percentage and OPS (.890), seventh in extra-base hits (19), ninth in total bases (76), and 11th in isolated power (.234), per MiLB.com.

On the other side of the ball, Mayer has unsurprisingly seen all of his playing time on the field this season come at shortstop. The 6-foot-2, 188-pounder served as Greenville’s designated hitter on Sunday, but has otherwise logged 279 innings at short while committing a total of seven errors in 99 defensive opportunities.

A native of California, Mayer was originally selected by the Red Sox with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft out of Eastlake High School. He became Boston’s highest-drafted player since 1967 and signed with the club for $6.664 million.

Less than two full years after signing, Mayer now finds himself one step closer to the major-leagues. As noted by Speier, he is the youngest Red Sox draftee to reach Double-A since 2010, when both Anthony Rizzo and Casey Kelly made the jump to Portland.

Mayer, who does not turn 21 until December, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 1 prospect in Boston’s farm system and the No. 12 prospect in the sport. Barring a surprise, he will likely spend the rest of the season with the Sea Dogs, which could — in theory — put him on track to garner big-league consideration at some point in 2024.

For the time being, though, Mayer will join a talented Sea Dogs roster that includes No. 3 prospect Ceddanne Rafaela, No. 7 prospect Nick Yorke, No. 15 prospect Nathan Hickey, No. 18 prospect Matthew Lugo, No. 23 prospect Niko Kavadas, and No. 27 prospect Chase Meidroth.

Mayer, Meidroth, and Hickey were all on Greenville’s Opening Day roster.