Top Red Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer has been named the International League Player of the Week for the week of April 21-27, Minor League Baseball announced on Monday.
Mayer put together an impressive week at the plate in Worcester’s series against the Syracuse Mets at Polar Park. Appearing in six games, the left-handed hitting 22-year-old went 9-for-20 (.450) with three doubles, three home runs, 12 RBIs, seven runs scored, three walks, and four strikeouts. He crushed a 401-foot homer on Tuesday, a 445-foot homer on Wednesday, and a 419-foot homer on Sunday.
After getting his first season at the Triple-A level off to a relatively slow start, Mayer has been on an offensive tear as of late and is now batting .280/.324/.548 with four doubles, seven home runs, an International League-leading 34 RBIs, 17 runs scored, one stolen base, seven walks, and 20 strikeouts through 23 games (102 plate appearances) for the WooSox thus far.
Among 134 qualified hitters in the International League, Mayer ranks 10th in slugging percentage, 12th in isolated power (.269), 23rd in OPS (.872), 35th in wOBA (.376), 37th in wRC+ (125), 41st in strikeout rate (19.6 percent), 43rd in swinging-strike rate (9.9 percent), 46th in batting average, and 58th in line-drive rate (25.3 percent), per FanGraphs.
On the other side of the ball, Mayer has added to his defensive profile by seeing playing time at three different positions to this point in the season. In addition to logging 135 innings at shortstop, the 6-foot-3, 188-pound infielder has made three starts at second base (a first for him professionally) and three starts at third base. Between those three spots, he has committed two errors in 75 total chances. He has also made one start at DH.
Mayer, the fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft coming out of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, Calif., is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 3 prospect in Boston’s farm system and the No. 12 prospect in the sport. Shortly after making his second straight trip to the All-Star Futures Game last summer, he was promoted from Double-A Portland to Worcester for the first time in mid-August. Due to a lumbar strain in his lower back, however, he did not appear in a game for the WooSox and instead spent the remainder of the 2024 campaign on the injured list.
After standing out at his first big league camp in Fort Myers this spring, Mayer has seemingly carried over that momentum into the early stages of the season with Worcester and is showing how impactful he can be when healthy. As MassLive.com’s Katie Morrison-O’Day recently highlighted, the Red Sox are prioritizing durability when it comes to Mayer’s remaining development.
“Number one with Marcelo is his health. We want to see him withstand the ups and downs of the season from a health standpoint,” WooSox hitting coach Doug Clark told Morrison-O’Day. “And that’s not only physically, but mentally. These kids are not 30 years old. They’re very young, and they’re very susceptible to ups and downs and how they deal with them. And that’s where we come into play as coaches…but that’s something that he does well already.”
Mayer, who does not turn 23 until December, is undoubtedly on the cusp of being called up for his major league debut. Though he is currently blocked at shortstop by Trevor Story, at second base by Kristian Campbell, and at third base by Alex Bregman, Mayer — much like top outfield prospect Roman Anthony — could force the issue for the Red Sox if he continues to produce the way he has in recent weeks.
“He’s a tremendous talent,” Clark said of Mayer. “We can’t wait for him to get what he deserves, and that’s to be a champion up there with Boston.”
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