New No.1 prospect Roman Anthony heads into Red Sox spring training with a lofty goal

Even after trading Kyle Teel away, the Boston Red Sox have one of, if not the best farm system in the majors. Roman Anthony is a big reason for that.

Anthony, a second-round selection of the Red Sox back in 2022, has dominated the minor leagues to the point where he was not only named the top prospect in Boston's loaded farm system, but the No. 1 prospect overall, according to Baseball America ($).

Anthony, understandably, is a player Red Sox fans are eager to see perform, which makes Spring Training a must-watch for them. Anthony should get plenty of playing time before the regular season begins. As fun as it'd be to see him play in February, Anthony has more than just Spring Training on his mind.

His mentality heading into Spring Training is exactly what Red Sox fans want to hear. Anthony not only wants to play well in the spring, he wants to play well enough to win a job on Boston's Opening Day roster. That is quite the bold proclamation.

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Roman Anthony wants spot on Red Sox Opening Day roster ahead of Spring Training

Again, this has to be music to the ears of just about every Red Sox fan. The game's No. 1 prospect is confident in his abilities enough to enter Spring Training with the mentality of trying to win an Opening Day roster spot.

As awesome as it is to see Anthony dreaming big, this is definitely unlikely. First of all, he'd have to beat out one of three rock-solid outfielders just to earn a spot. Jarren Duran is an All-Star, he's not going anywhere. Wilyer Abreu just won a Gold Glove and finished sixth in the AL Rookie of the Year balloting. An argument could easily be made that he should've finished higher. He isn't going anywhere. Ceddanne Rafaela is probably the outfielder with the shortest leash, but he hit 15 home runs and stole 19 bases in his first full season while also playing high-end defense in center field. It's going to be tough for Anthony to beat him out as well. This isn't even taking into account Boston's desire to use Masataka Yoshida in the outfield on occasion.

As unlikely as it might be for Anthony to make the jump to the majors, he shouldn't enter Spring Training with a non-zero chance. He's coming off a strong season which saw him slash .291/.396/.498 with 18 home runs and 65 RBI while stealing 21 bases in 119 games played combined. In the 35 Triple-A games he played, Anthony had a blistering .983 OPS. Small-ish sample, sure, but it wouldn't be surprising at all to see Anthony adjust quite well to MLB pitching the first time he gets the chance to face it.

The best thing Anthony can do is make this a decision for Boston's brass to actually think about. Chances are, if he struggles in Spring Training, he's a lock to begin the 2025 season in Triple-A. If Anthony swings a hot bat, though, it will make it tougher to keep him down, increasing the possibility of his goal being realized.