Top Red Sox outfield prospect Roman Anthony homered for the third time this season in High-A Greenville’s doubleheader against the Brooklyn Cyclones at Fluor Field on Thursday night.
In Game 1, Anthony led off the bottom of the first inning by taking Brooklyn starter Felipe De La Cruz 375 feet to left-center field for his 12th homer with Greenville and his first of the year off a left-hander. Anthony’s solo shot proved to be the difference maker, as the Drive went on to defeat the Cyclones, 1-0, behind seven shutout innings from starter Zach Penrod and reliever Brock Bell.
ROMAN CANDLE #12
— Greenville Drive (@GreenvilleDrive) August 31, 2023
Roman Anthony gives us the early lead with a 375 ft. shot over the left field wall.
Drive 1, Cyclones 0 pic.twitter.com/JABCVjHR6t
In Game 2, Anthony served as Greenville’s leadoff hitter yet again and went 1-for-2 with a double, a run scored, and two walks. This time around, however, the Drive fell to the Cyclones by a final score of 7-4 and had to settle for a doubleheader split as a result.
Between both games of Thursday’s twin bill, though, Anthony went 2-for-5 with two extra-base hits, one RBI, two runs scored, two walks, and one strikeout. In doing so, the left-handed hitter extended his hitting streak to four games and capped off a solid month of August in which be batted .297/.391/.506 with six doubles, two triples, three home runs, 14 runs driven in, 17 runs scored, 13 walks, and 34 strikeouts in 23 games (105 plate appearances) for Greenville.
Still just 19 years old, Anthony made the jump to Greenville from Low-A Salem in mid-June after slashing .228/.376/.317 with one homer and 18 RBIs in 42 games (202 plate appearances) with the Red Sox to kick off his first full professional season. While a .693 OPS is far from eye-popping, Anthony produced strong underlying numbers — such as an 18.8 percent walk rate and 26.2 percent line-drive rate — with Boston’s Carolina League affiliate.
As such, the Red Sox elected to move Anthony up the minor-league ladder on June 13 and he has only seen his stock rise since. In 52 games with the Drive altogether, Anthony is batting a stout .292/.415/.574 with 13 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs, 35 RBIs, 41 runs scored, two stolen bases, 40 walks, and 71 strikeouts across 236 trips to the plate.
Among South Atlantic League hitters who have accrued at least 230 plate appearances to this point in the season, Anthony ranks sixth in walk rate (16.9 percent), 10th in batting average, fourth in on-base percentage, third in slugging percentage, first in OPS (.990), second in isolated power (.282), first in line-drive rate (30.1 percent), and first in wRC+ (166), per FanGraphs.
Though he has not posed much of a threat on the basepaths, Anthony had been able to make his impact felt in the outfield. With Greenville specifically, the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder has logged 328 innings in center and 34 2/3 innings in right, committing four errors in 110 defensive chances while recording a team-leading five outfield assists.
Y'all have seen Roman Anthony launch a baseball. Did you know he can track 'em down too?
— Greenville Drive (@GreenvilleDrive) August 6, 2023
WEB GEM. pic.twitter.com/pTkGZQDKN2
Anthony, the 79th overall selection in last year’s amateur draft out of Stoneman Douglas High School (Parkland, Fla.), is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect in Boston’s farm system (trailing only shortstop Marcelo Mayer) and the No. 19 prospect in the sport. The Red Sox swayed the West Palm Beach native away from his commitment to Ole Miss by signing him for an over-slot bonus of $2.5 million.
With the minor-league season entering its final month, it seems likely that Anthony — who does not turn 20 until next May — will close out the 2023 campaign in Greenville. On that note, Anthony is leading off and starting in center field for the Drive in their contest against the Cyclones on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. eastern time.
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