Red Sox Call Up Top Overall Prospect Roman Anthony

It was only a matter of time before the Boston Red Sox decided that the best prospect in baseball, who has dominated Triple-A, would be a good addition to their roster.

That time has come as the Red Sox will be calling up Roman Anthony today to make his MLB debut with Wilyer Abreu hitting the injured list for Boston.

Anthony, 21 years old, claimed the top spot in our Top 100 Prospects List before the season, despite most others ranking Roki Sasaki ahead of him. He remained the clear top prospect on our updated list last week.

He has posted .288/.423/.491 slash line with a 146 wRC+ and 10 home runs through 58 games this season. He has walked a staggering 51 times compared to 56 strikeouts on the year.

Anthony reached Triple-A last season, where he proceeded to put up even better numbers than he did in Double-A despite being just 20 years old.

With Boston struggling to find any degree of consistency this year, Anthony could be just the spark they need to turn around their 32-35 start. After a huge offseason, they were expected to contend in the American League but have yet to show that they’re capable of that.

At the end of last season, Boston’s farm system featured a top four of elite hitters all at the Triple-A level. Despite Anthony by the clear highest-regarded of the quartet, he’s now the last to debut as Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer are already in Boston, while Kyle Teel debuted last week for the White Sox after being dealt there in the Garrett Crochet deal this winter.

Raw power is a clear strength for Anthony despite modest power production to open this season. He posted a hard-hit rate over 50% last season and has improved upon that this year. Meanwhile, he had a 90th percentile exit velocity of 109 MPH in 2024, which stacks up against numerous MLB stars.

Anthony has shown the capability of playing a quality center field, but should profile as a true plus defender if he ends up playing in the corners more for Boston. As he takes Abreu’s roster spot, he could slot into right field in the early weeks of his career.

He has legit superstar upside, and it may not show immediately, but Boston is a better team with Anthony in their lineup. He’ll debut tonight, June 9th, batting fifth for the Red Sox at home against the Rays.

Read Aram Leighton’s full scouting report on Anthony:

Roman Anthony – OF – Boston Red Sox

Height/Weight: 6’3″, 200 | Bat/Throw: L/R | 2nd Round (79), 2022 (BOS) | ETA: 2025

Roman Anthony hammers the ball consistently, producing some of the most impressive batted ball data in minor league baseball, while flying up the ranks. After tearing through Triple-A shortly after his 20th birthday to close out his impressive 2025 season, Anthony solidified himself as the top prospect in baseball.

Offense

Anthony starts upright with his hands rested by his ear before pulling his hands back as he sinks into his back side. While his hands travel a decent distance, the move keeps his upper and lower half in sync while maintaining rhythm, consistently getting into a powerful launch position.

A huge improvement for Anthony in 2024 was his ability to hit breaking balls, seeing his OPS climb from the low 500s against spin to the low 700s. That may sound insubstantial, put when you hit fastballs to the tune of an OPS over 1.000 and velocity 93+ MPH to an OPS above 1.100, even just average numbers against breaking balls should be enough to put up the impressive slash line that Anthony posted in 2024.

Anthony’s raw power is comfortably double plus, with a 90th percentile exit velocity of 109 MPH and hard hit rate of 53% in 2024. While he successfully tapped into more game power at the upper levels, he has room for even more as he could still benefit from finding some more loft in his swing. If Anthony can raise his average launch angle of 9.5 degrees on batted balls 95+ MPH, 30+ homers would be easily attainable.

That said, he still compiles plenty of extra base hits even when he is not leaving the yard, adding 32 doubles and four triples in 130 games. A very patient hitter, Anthony has run a chase rate around 20% between 2023 and 2024, resulting in a walk rate north of 15% in that span. With at least an average feel to hit as well, Anthony has the goods to be a well-rounded, middle-of-the-order masher.

Defense/Speed

An above average runner, Anthony covers plenty of ground and already commands center field with a fair amount of comfort. From the direct routes he takes to the way he played the ball off of Greenville’s jagged center field wall, Anthony has looked the part at each stop.

He may slow down a bit as he fills out, but already getting good jumps with direct routes, Anthony has a decent shot of sticking up the middle. Given the presence of Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran in Boston, Anthony is likely to move to a corner where he should comfortably grade out as above average. Anthony provides some value on the base paths, but could be more efficient swiping 21 bags on 28 tries in 2024.

Outlook

Anthony was one of the most productive hitters in the minor leagues as a 19/20-year-old at the upper levels and he is still not even a finished product by his standards. If Anthony is able to find a bit more lift without compromising his good feel to hit, he could easily eclipse 30 home runs while getting on base at a strong clip. Consistently hitting the ball hard to all fields, Anthony should consistently run a high BABIP with the potential to pile up doubles in droves if the home run output stalls some. His feel to hit, approach and raw power make him a high floor masher, but he has the offensive upside to be a star.