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Boston Red Sox minor leaguer Roman Anthony is the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball according to both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. He provided a very good explanation why on Saturday in Triple-A.
In the eighth inning of the Worcester Red Sox's game against the Rochester Red Wings, Anthony crushed a ball farther than any player in affiliated baseball has hit all season. The projected distance: 497 feet. The exit velocity: 115.6 mph.
And it was a go-ahead grand slam.
The WooSox went on to win 10-4.
That homer didn't just surpass the longest homer in both the majors and minors this season (Mike Trout and Aramis Garcis held the high mark in each at 484 feet). That 497 feet would have been the fifth-longest homer recorded in the majors since Statcast started tracking fly balls in 2015.
Aaron Judge has never hit a ball that far, according to Statcast. Nor have Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Fernando Tatis Jr. or Ronald Acuña Jr. The Statcast record belongs to former top prospect Nomar Mazara, who hit a ball 505 feet in 2019.
The 21-year-old Anthony entered this season as one of the top prospects in all of baseball, but has remained in the minors for all of 2025 so far. He's been laying waste to the competition, slashing .291/.396/.498 with 18 homers and 21 stolen bases between Double-A and Triple-A entering Saturday, and is expected to make it to the majors sometime this season.
When he does reach the Red Sox in the big leagues, Anthony figures to see time in the outfield immediately, it's just unclear where. The team has a fairly entrenched outfield with All-Star Jarren Duran in left, defensive standout Ceddanne Rafaela in center and Gold Glover Wilyer Abreu in right, but Anthony can play anywhere in the outfield. As MLB.com's Ian Browne noted last month, moving Rafaela to the infield could end up being the move, if everyone remains healthy.
The Red Sox have already called up their other two big-time prospects, with the versatile Kristian Campbell breaking camp with the MLB club from spring training and third baseman Marcelo Mayor getting the call after an injury to Alex Bregman.
Boston drafted Anthony out of high school 79th overall in the 2022 MLB Draft and signed him to an above-slot $2.5 million deal.
