Red Sox top three prospects introduce themselves to Worcester

WORCESTER — There was a buzz around Polar Park on Tuesday. Finally, the Big Three have arrived, and they’re making an impact already.

Reporters and cameras packed the DCU Club on the third level of Polar Park and the bright lights shined on the Red Sox’ top three prospects – No. 1 Marcelo Mayer, No. 2 Roman Anthony and No. 3 Kyle Teel – as they prepared for the Triple-A debuts.

“It’s really special, when I looked at the lineup, I was like ‘wow, I’m close, I’m here in Worcester’,” Teel said after the WooSox’ 4-3 win. “Today was amazing, that’s the best way to describe it.”

“I think I can speak for the three of us when I say we weren’t really worried about where we were going next or a promotion or anything like that,” Anthony added. “We’re having such a good time playing. But it was nice getting called up and obviously it makes it that much better when it’s the three of us.”

Anthony wasted no time making his presence known in the lineup, as he roped the second pitch he saw from Lehigh Valley starter Kolby Allard to right field for a double.

He scored his first Triple-A run two batters later when Triston Casas homered.

“Seeing Triston and knowing the kind of hitter he is, I’m not surprised,” Anthony said. “Every time [I watch him hit] it’s kind of like I’m a little kid again, taking it all in.”

Anthony finished the day 3-for-4 in his Triple-A debut with two singles to go with his leadoff double.

Teel grounded out twice and struck out twice and caught the full game.

“We got a great win tonight, I got to meet everyone in the clubhouse, it’s been an awesome day,” Teel said. “Competing in Triple A for the first time, I was just take it all in and enjoy the moment.”

Mayer’s debut on the field will have to wait, as he’s still dealing with hip/lower back soreness that sidelined him in Portland. But Anthony and Teel were in the WooSox lineup on Tuesday night with Anthony manning center field and batting leadoff and Teel catching and hitting fifth.

WooSox manager Chad Tracy said he hopes Mayer will make his first appearance for the WooSox sometime this week, but the team wants to make sure he’s pain-free before he gets into a game.

For Tracy, the promotion of the three top prospects has been a long time coming.

“[Red Sox Director of Player Development Brian Abraham and I] talked about it a lot dating back a while, let’s just put it that way,” Tracy said. “Obviously those kids, they’re very talented, but they’ve been performing well for a while, but there’s also that fine balance of having a team full of veteran guys here that have gone up and helped our big league club…probably performance-wise, they could have come earlier but we have over a month of baseball and it’s a pretty good amount of the bats for them to play.”

WooSox 4, IronPigs 3

The WooSox boasted a lineup with two top prospects, one rehabbing major-leaguer in Casas, the International League leader in walks in Chase Meidroth, and two MLB-caliber hitters in Reese McGuire and Vaughn Grissom.

Casas got the WooSox on the board early with a two-run home run in the first inning, and Grissom went deep in the sixth inning to dead center. Casas went 2-for-4 on the night with a double in addition to the home run.

Starter Shane Drohan made his first appearance for the WooSox this season after he was returned from the White Sox, who took him in the Rule 5 Draft this offseason. Drohan battled some command issues, walking four in 3 2/3 innings of work, but limited the IronPigs to one run on four hits.

The WooSox added what ended up being a very important insurance run in the seventh thanks to a Tyler McDonough double and Meidroth single.

Reliever Yohan Ramirez gave up two runs in the eighth but closed out the game with a scoreless ninth.

What’s Next

Richard Fitts will get the start for the WooSox and Casas will most likely be back in the lineup again on Wednesday night as the WooSox take on the IronPigs with first pitch at 6:45 p.m.

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