Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer Set Red Sox Apart On MLB Top 100 Prospects List

Monday brought another top prospect rankings update for the Boston Red Sox and the rest of Major League Baseball.

MLB Pipeline released their updated Top 100 list, and players who made their debuts on Opening Day and have remained in the big leagues all season officially graduated. That meant that Red Sox starting second baseman Kristian Campbell, a front-runner for American League Rookie of the Year, was no longer eligible.

However, the Red Sox still retained a commanding presence atop the list, with a notable riser further down as well.

Outfielder Roman Anthony remained in the number-one spot on MLB Pipeline's list, having usurped Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki's spot before the struggling Japanese star even graduated. And shortstop Marcelo Mayer clocked in at number eight, making the Red Sox the only team with two top-10 prospects.

MLB.com prospect evaluator Sam Dykstra had this to say about the Red Sox's two Triple-A stars:

"Anthony retains his spot at No. 1 following Sasaki's graduation, and it was an easy call. At just 20 years old (he turns 21 on Tuesday), the Red Sox outfielder has consistently been at or near the top of the Triple-A leaderboard in barrels, barrel rate, expected slugging percentage, average exit velocity and chase rate.

"In other words, he hits the ball hard, he hits the ball hard often and he won't expand the zone to do it. He should be in Boston soon. The Red Sox are the only organization with two top 15 prospects, as Mayer also holds onto a prominent spot at No. 8."

Meanwhile, the Red Sox's last entry on the list was High-A shortstop Franklin Arias, who checked in at number 57.

No Red Sox pitchers were included on MLB Pipeline's list, and one has to wonder how much longer that can continue. Luis Perales has been a name to watch for some time, but a trio of High-A arms, Payton Tolle, Brandon Clarke, and Juan Valera, are also mowing down hitters at impressive rates.

Subjectively, infielder Mikey Romero is one final name to watch as a possible Top 100 candidate as the year moves along, because he's impressed everyone in the organization since finding his swing again last summer and is crushing Double-A pitching.

As always, rankings only matter until players actually debut in the big leagues--just ask Sasaki about that one. But it's clear the future remains bright in the Red Sox's pipeline, which has seemingly been growing stronger year over year.