Red Sox promote a top prospect, but there's a catch

The Boston Red Sox find themselves in the enviable but tricky position of having a number of talented, MLB-ready prospects but not enough availability in the lineup to guarantee they get regular at-bats to continue their development. Boston’s big three prospects, consisting of outfielder Roman Anthony, shortstop Marcelo Mayer and second baseman Kristian Campbell, appear to have the Red Sox set up for success for years to come. But so far, only Campbell has made the Major League roster.

Anthony (the Red Sox’s top prospect) and Mayer (No. 2) continue to toil in Triple-A, patiently awaiting a call up to the Big League club. But while Boston has yet to bring either player up to the majors, the Red Sox did promote their fifth overall prospect, Jhostynxon Garcia, elevating the outfielder from Double-A to Triple-A ball, per Matt Dolloff of 98.5 the Sports Hub.

The Red Sox continue to corner the market on prospects

Red Sox promote a top prospect, but there's a catch — WooSox Photo/Ashley Green / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Garcia acquitted himself well across three levels of the Red Sox’s farm system last season, slashing .286/.356/.536 with 23 home runs, 24 doubles, 66 RBI and 78 runs scored in 107 games at the A+, A and Double-A levels.

He started this season in Double-A and, while he’s not exactly knocking the cover off the ball, the Red Sox decided he was ready to join their other top prospects in waiting at Triple-A Worcester. In 33 games with Double-A Portland, Garcia had a .748 OPS with three home runs, 17 RBI and 19 runs scored.

It was widely believed that Anthony would make the Red Sox’s Opening Day roster in 2025. After all, he’s not just Boston’s top prospect, he’s the number one ranked prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB.com. But with Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu in the outfield, Boston decided to let Anthony continue dominating the minors for the time being. He is, predictably, tearing up Triple-A pitching, slashing .322/.446/.503. He’ll likely join the Major League team sooner rather than later this season. Unless, of course, Boston’s plan is to put together a generational Triple-A squad.

Garcia could use some extra seasoning after ascending to Triple-A for the first time. But the team has high hopes for him. Still, even if Garcia never manages to pan out, he already has a Hall of Fame nickname. The Red Sox’s No. 5 prospect has become known as “the password” because his first name resembles a computer-generated password. Also, Jhostynxon is apparently pronounced JOES-tin-son, which totally makes sense right up until it doesn’t.