Red Sox Forgotten First-Round Pick Off To Blistering Start Following Prolonged Injury
The Boston Red Sox have been a middling club this season largely due to chief baseball officer Craig Breslow holding off on investing heavily in the free agent or trade markets until the big three prospects arrive.
The trio consists of shortstop Marcelo Mayer, outfielder Roman Anthony and catcher Kyle Teel of course -- two first-rounders and a compensatory second-rounder.
However, there was another first-round pick in one of those draft classes -- a player who has not received much hype due to his early inability to stay on the field: shortstop Mikey Romero.
Romero was drafted No. 24 overall in the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft, 55 picks ahead of Anthony. The 20-year-old is the Red Sox's No. 11 prospect according to MLB Pipeline -- falling behind the rest of the pack largely due to back ailments that limited him to just 34 games last season and delayed his start in 2024.
The promising middle infielder returned to action on May 7 and is off to a fantastic start. Romero is hitting .379 with four extra-base hits including a home run, six RBIs and a 1.040 OPS in seven games for High-A Greenville.
The breakout season in the making has been highlighted by a three-hit day on Wednesday, which included a double, home run and three RBIs during the Drive's intense 14-12 extra-innings victory over the Greensboro Grasshoppers.
The Red Sox are putting all of their belief in Mayer to become a franchise shortstop -- who has lived up to the hype since the day he was drafted. If Romero continues his strong start, he'll force Boston to involve him in the game plans in the near future as well.
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