When the Purple Sox drafted Marcelo Mayer there was a approach all through the recreation they’d merely landed top-of-the-line participant in his class.
The highschool shortstop was an elite experience throughout the mildew of Corey Seager and Brandon Crawford, solely Purple Sox officers believed he was way more superior at his age than these two All-Stars and World Sequence champions.
That’s masses to measure as a lot as, nevertheless two years later Mayer’s achieved each factor attainable to reside as a lot because the hype.
Since being chosen No. 4 whole throughout the 2021 MLB Draft, Mayer has rocketed via the Purple Sox minor league system, and remaining month the 20-year-old grew to turn into the youngest Purple Sox draftee to earn a Double-A call-up since 2009. He ranks as a first-rate 5 prospect in all of baseball and never too way back was chosen to the Futures Sport over All-Star Weekend in Seattle.
“I’ll inform you what,” talked about Portland Sea Canines supervisor Chad Epperson. “This child, each time he steps into the field there’s an opportunity for one thing good to occur.”
From the second he made his expert debut Mayer has impressed the Purple Sox at every flip. Final 12 months he earned a swift promotion from Low-A Salem to Excessive-A Greenville in his first full season {of professional} ball, and to date in 2023 Mayer is batting .250 with 12 residence runs, 47 RBI and an .813 OPS in 56 video video games between Excessive-A and Double-A.
His preliminary transition to Portland has been a blended bag — he’s batted .177 with 5 residence runs in his first 21 video video games — nevertheless he’s moreover impressed coaches and teammates alongside together with his maturity and baseball IQ, every superior for a participant his age.
“It’s been good, I’ve been settling in, I really like the blokes within the clubhouse. We’re boys, we’ve been boys since final yr’s spring coaching so it’s been a fairly easy transition,” Mayer talked about. “On the sector clearly my numbers haven’t been there, there are just a few changes that should be made however I believe I’m taking part in nicely, been taking part in good protection and hitting the ball exhausting, so we’ll go from there.”
Epperson often known as Mayer “an entire package deal form of man” who has vitality to all fields and will make powerful performs look easy. Although Mayer is working to keep up enhancing all aspects of his recreation, setting up on that vitality has been a priority and an house he feels he’s made the biggest strides to date.
“I labored on it within the offseason getting stronger, and I believe that comes with age as nicely and maturity,” Mayer talked about. “It feels good to be hitting homers.”
“There’s lots to be enthusiastic about this child and actually happy with the way in which he’s gone about it within the three weeks or no matter it’s he’s been right here,” Epperson talked about.
Past his talents on the sphere, Mayer’s secret weapon may very well be his capability to bridge the opening between his English and Spanish speaking teammates. The bilingual Mayer considers Spanish his first language, and whereas he’s from the San Diego house his mom and father are every Mexican and his mother is initially from Nogales, Sonora, a metropolis alongside the U.S. border all through from Arizona.
“Rising up we spoke Spanish in my family. I nonetheless converse Spanish to at the present time in my home, that’s just about the one language we converse,” Mayer talked about. “Each time I begin talking Spanish the opposite Latin gamers — I at all times catch them unexpectedly.”
Gamers with Mayer’s distinctive presents don’t come spherical often, which is why Mayer’s minor league occupation has carried out out beneath such an unusually vibrant spotlight. For his half, Mayer acknowledges the hype and a spotlight nevertheless talked about he does his best to not let it impact him.
In any case, what good is a first-rate 5 prospect score if he in no way portions to one thing throughout the majors?
“It’s undoubtedly an honor. It’s cool to take a look at however on the finish of the day that doesn’t matter in any respect to anybody, particularly the folks within the entrance workplace,” Mayer talked about. “I do know I nonetheless should carry out if I need to make it to the place I need to be, in order that’s why I’m going each time I’m on the market, I simply attempt to play exhausting, carry out, work exhausting and hopefully every part will fall into place.”
Even in in all probability essentially the most optimistic state of affairs Mayer attainable gained’t make his large league debut until subsequent season on the earliest. Nonetheless, Mayer gained’t be a stranger when he arrives, and this Tuesday he took advantage of Portland’s back-to-back off-days to make the journey all the way in which right down to see Boston play the Miami Marlins.
“It was a extremely cool environment, actually cool to see these guys, I do know a few of them on a private stage so it was cool to see them on the market,” talked about Mayer, who talked about it was his third time visiting Fenway since being drafted. “The sport didn’t go as deliberate however that occurs, that’s baseball, so it was fairly cool and hopefully sooner or later I might be of their sneakers taking part in there.”
By the point the Marlins subsequent return to Fenway in 2025, Mayer very properly might probably be.
