Triston Casas’ ruptured patellar tendon and surgery will force him to miss the rest of the season and eyes are focused on the Boston Red Sox’s minor league system in search of a replacement. But Boston has a lack of major league-ready depth at the corner.
First base depth wasn’t a point of emphasis over the offseason, but the Sox still have a few options who can slot in as a temporary solution. In this Red Sox prospect update, we get to highlight some players at a few stops who could be options for first base down the road. So, while it’s not the strongest position at the moment, it has clear stepping stones for the future.
A few big name bats are heating up in this week’s Boston Red Sox prospect watch
Worcester Red Sox (Triple-A)
Roman Anthony is slashing .305/.419/.514 with five doubles, one triple, and five home runs. He’s driven in 17 runs, scored 22 more, and stolen three bases.
Even when Anthony has a quiet week, he keeps his numbers up. Since being promoted last year, Triple-A has hardly seemed like a challenge for him. The Red Sox are in a difficult situation, though — they have far too many talented outfielders. Anthony isn’t on the 40-man roster, so they likely don’t want to press the issue at the moment. However, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to defend keeping Anthony in Triple-A.
Marcelo Mayer didn’t collect an RBI this week, but he still has that ridiculous 34 number next to the stat. The left-handed shortstop is slashing .268/.323/.491 with four doubles and seven home runs. He’s scored 18 runs and stolen one base.
Mayer is another blocked prospect, with too much going on in the infield to get him involved, and like Anthony, he isn’t likely to land the Sox’s first base job. They likely aren’t going to throw their top prospects at a new position midway through the season. Even if they do, they’ll give them a few weeks in the minors to learn the position.
Nathan Hickey is a legitimate option for first base, though. He hasn’t played there a ton, but he’s spent enough time there this year to fill the job temporarily. He’s looked solid defensively at first base and even made a sweet play earlier this week.
The left-handed hitter is slashing .253/.289/.407 with five doubles and three home runs. He’s driven in 14 runs and scored 11 more. Hickey’s walk rate is down significantly, but he looks much better with the bat in 2025 than in 2024.
Corey Rosier has figured something out in Triple-A this year. Last season, he batted .177 there. This year, he’s hitting .216 in Double-A, but slashing .371/.436/.571 in 11 games with Worcester.
Rosier has four doubles and three home runs between Double-A and Triple-A. He’s driven in 20 runs, scored 16 more, and stolen four bases in four attempts. The left-handed hitting outfielder is earning more playing time with each game.
Shane Drohan had his first game with a rough patch of the year this week. The left-handed pitcher still managed to only allow three runs on five hits in five innings. He walked two batters and struck out seven.
Drohan has a 1.90 ERA, .165 BAA, and 1.01 WHIP in six appearances (five starts). He’s struck out 35 batters compared to just 10 walks in 23 2/3 innings. It wasn’t much longer after this time in 2023 when Drohan’s velocity started to dip, so we’ll keep an eye on that.
Portland Sea Dogs (Double-A)
Blaze Jordan is an option for first base in 2026 and beyond. The right-handed hitting first baseman/third baseman has improved defensively over the years and is now a legitimately great glove at first.
Jordan started slow at the plate this year, entering April 29 with a .180/.271/.262 slash line. However, he’s 10-for-23 with a double and two home runs since then. Jordan now has a .250/.340/.393 slash line with six doubles and two home runs. He’s driven in 17 runs, scored 16 more, and stolen one base.
Jordan spent all of 2024 (and some of 2023) in Double-A. He’s ready for the next challenge, and once in Triple-A, he’s only a step away from the majors.
Mikey Romero’s power seems to be legitimate, and that adds a ridiculous amount of value to his top prospect status. It also leads to questions about what the Red Sox do with some of their prospects, as there are too many mouths to feed at specific positions. Some might end up being used as trade chips for current needs.
Romero’s slashing .267/.370/.535 with four doubles, two triples, and five home runs. He’s driven in 12 runs, scored 20 more, and stolen three bases. The left-handed hitting shortstop has 13 walks in 101 plate appearances (12.9% walk rate) this season. That’s a vast improvement from his 18 walks in 362 plate appearances (5% walk rate) last season.
Ahbram Liendo has played 20 games this season, we’re starting to distance ourselves from “small sample size” territory. The right-handed hitting infielder is slashing .333/.392/.458 with six doubles and one home run. He’s driven in five runs, scored 12 more, and stolen 12 bases in 13 attempts.
Liendo needs to cut back on the strikeouts (23 in 79 plate appearances) and could improve the walks (7). Outside of that, he couldn’t ask for a much better season. He’s already walked more this week, with four of his seven free passes coming against New Hampshire.
Hayden Mullins was promoted before the start of the week and made his Double-A debut on May 1. The left-handed pitcher allowed one run on three hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked four batters and struck out a career-high 10.
Mullins has a 1.19 ERA, .177 BAA, and 0.93 WHIP in five appearances (four starts). He’s struck out 37 batters compared to just seven walks in 22 2/3 innings.
Tyler Uberstine has quietly had a strong season in Double-A. The right-handed pitcher allowed one run on four hits in 5 1/3 innings this week. He struck out six batters without walking any.
Uberstine has a 3.75 ERA, .250 BAA, and 1.13 WHIP in five starts. He’s struck out 29 batters compared to just four walks in 24 innings. Uberstine’s had some bad BABIP luck. With that in mind, he’s actually been even better than the already solid numbers.
Greenville Drive (High-A)
Payton Tolle twirled a gem last week. The 2024 second-round pick somehow completely outdid himself this week. Tolle allowed three hits over five scoreless innings on May 4. He struck out 12 batters without walking any.
The left-handed pitcher has a 4.30 ERA, .214 BAA, and 1.16 WHIP in four starts. He’s struck out 29 batters and walked five in 14 2/3 innings. Tolle had a rough showing in his first start of the year, but has been absolute nails since then.
Brandon Clarke made his High-A debut this week. The left-handed pitcher allowed one unearned run on one hit in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out seven batters without walking any.
Clarke dominated Single-A in quick succession and somehow looked even better in his Greenville debut. The left-handed pitcher has a 0.63 ERA, .063 BAA, and 0.35 WHIP. He’s struck out 24 batters compared to two walks in 14 1/3 innings.
Franklin Arias had a pair of massive games this week, which included his first two home runs of the season. The right-handed hitting shortstop drew six walks to go along with five hits.
Arias is slashing .314/.397/.422 with five doubles and two home runs between Single-A and High-A this season. He’s driven in 15 runs, scored 19 more, and stolen five bases in six attempts. Arias has done everything right this year. He’s already a top 100 prospect and is only going to rise.
Miguel Bleis went 5-for-18 with three doubles and eight RBI this week. The right-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .227/.316/.470 with four doubles and four home runs. He’s driven in 23 runs, scored 14 more, and stolen three bases in three attempts.
Bleis leads Greenville in home runs (by two) and RBI (by 11). He has the second most steals by someone who hasn’t been caught, is fifth in doubles, and third in runs scored. Bleis is the total package just waiting to put together the final pieces.
Zach Ehrhard has been phenomenal this season. The right-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .297/.453/.378 with six doubles. He’s driven in nine runs, scored 16 more, and is 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts.
Ehrhard has yet to hit his first professional home run, but the numbers outside of that are more than impressive enough to make up for it. The 2024 fourth-round pick has drawn 21 walks compared to 22 strikeouts.
Nazzan Zanetello collected at least one hit in five of the six games this week. The right-handed hitting shortstop added two home runs in those six games.
Zanetello is slashing .233/.374/.384 with seven doubles and two home runs. He’s driven in 11 runs, scored 22 more, and stolen four bases. The strikeouts are still a problem (40), but he’s drawing walks (18) and hitting the ball hard with good consistency.
Marvin Alcantara has had a great batting average all year, but the power is lacking. The right-handed hitting infielder added a double and his first home run of the year this week.
Alcantara is slashing .342/.429/.418 with three doubles and one home run. He’s driven in 12 runs, scored 13 more, and stolen four bases. Alcantara has more walks (10) than strikeouts (9).
Salem Red Sox (Single-A)
Yoeilin Cespedes has hit the ball hard this year and hasn’t gotten rewarded for it. However, that seems to be turning around. The right-handed hitting shortstop has at least one hit in five of his last six games. He’s added four doubles to his total in those five contests.
Cespedes is slashing .233/.272/.384 with seven doubles and two triples. He’s driven in 10 runs and scored eight more. The abundance of talent in the Red Sox’s system has led to Cespedes being overlooked thanks to his slow start. His bat is legit, though. He’s going to get hot, and it will be scary to watch.
Antonio Anderson probably shouldn’t be in Single-A anymore. The switch-hitting corner infielder is slashing.345/.436/.488 with six doubles and two home runs. He’s driven in 17 runs, scored 18 more, and stolen one base.
Anderson spent all of 2024 in Single-A but had his struggles. The 19-year-old has clearly figured things out in 2025 and needs a new challenge in High-A.
Interestingly, Anderson played his first professional game at first base on May 4. It seems the Triston Casas news made the Red Sox want to start building up new names at first base for the future.
Andruw Musett had his best professional baseball game on May 4. The right-handed hitting catcher went 3-for-5 with two home runs. Musett is slashing .260/.345/.356 with a double and two home runs. He’s driven in eight runs and scored 11 more.
Salem’s ballpark isn’t home run friendly, but Musett demolished two baseballs to give himself the multi-homer game. He’s been the primary catcher in Single-A this season and should get plenty of opportunities to prove himself.
Blake Aita was fantastic this week. The right-handed pitcher allowed just one run over six scoreless innings. He struck out seven batters without walking any.
Aita carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. That’s the second time this season that the 2024 sixth-round pick had a no-hitter through five innings. Aita’s had a few bumps in the road but has proven he can dominate Single-A pitching.
Adam Bates had his best appearance of the season this week. The right-handed pitcher allowed two hits over five shutout innings. He struck out a career-high seven batters without walking any.
Walks had been the big issue for Bates (13 walks in 12 innings prior to that outing), so this was necessary to see. The Australian has a 4.24 ERA, .150 BAA, and 1.29 WHIP in five appearances (two starts). He’s struck out 18 batters compared to 13 walks in 17 innings.
Shea Sprague allowed two runs on six hits in five innings this week. The left-handed pitcher struck out a career-high nine batters without walking any.
Sprague has a 6.19 ERA, .343 BAA, and 1.69 WHIP in four appearances (one start). He’s struck out 21 batters compared to just three walks in 16 innings. The numbers aren’t great, but the strikeout-to-walk ratio is phenomenal. Sprague’s also put together back-to-back fantastic starts. It appears he’s turned a corner early on in the season.
