No. 4 pick Marcelo Mayer Enjoying Strong Start in Salem

There may not be a more difficult transition in all of sports than the jump from playing baseball at the high school level to the professional game. 

Now imagine that you are selected by the Boston Red Sox, one of the most historic franchises in all American sports. But better yet, let’s say you are the highest selected player in the organization in over 50 years.

Well, that’s the story of a 19-year-old out of Chula Vista, Calif. and his name has already generated a buzz: Marcelo Mayer.

Born in a town around 10 miles away from Mexico, the phenom shortstop had a unique perspective on the game, with his family living on both sides of the border, he has many relatives that played the sport in both sides on dividing line. His parents were both born in Nogales Municipality, Sonora, Mexico, which has a fence that runs through its streets. 

Similarly, to his family, Mayer fell in love with the game of baseball and while growing up, he followed on of the most recognizable sports franchises in the world with the New York Yankees. 

Shortstop was always the position that jumped out to Mayer as he noted that Corey Seager, Francisco Lindor and Fernando Tatis Jr. were all players that he admired deeply.

It didn’t take long for him to experience the position when he named the starting shortstop for Eastlake High School in his freshman year; sharing reps with Keoni Cavaco, who went on to be selected 13th overall in the 2019 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins.

The collegiate level already had their eyes locked on the young talent after his first season at the school, he announced his commitment to play at USC.

After hitting around .260 in his sophomore season and .294 in his shorten junior year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayer’s production exploded as he hit near .400 in his senior season. 

Despite falling short of a championship, Mayer entered the spotlight as he earned the honor of the 2021 Collegiate Baseball National High School Player of the Year. In addition, he was named Mr. Baseball California State Player of the Year by Cal-Hi Sports. 

With his time at Eastlake High School in the rearview mirror, Mayer had to deal with a significant fork in the road if he was either going to stick with his commitment to play at USC or make the leap into professional baseball when, not if, his name is called.

Multiple scouts listed Mayer as the complete package and was the No. 1 overall prospect on many boards, but when draft night came, Mayer was selected at the No. 4 spot by the Boston Red Sox. He was the second high-school player off the board with Jackson Jobe going one pick ahead of him with the Detroit Tigers. 

Mayer ultimately decided to forego his collegiate path and pursued his professional baseball career and signed on with the Boston Red Sox organization.

It only took three weeks for the first-round selection to make his professional debut in the Florida Complex League, the rookie-level division of Minor League Baseball. 

Over the course of 26 games, the shortstop recorded 25 hits and 17 RBIs while he produced a .275 batting average. He also was efficient on the base paths as he came around to score 25 times.

Following a great showing done in Florida, it was announced in early April 2022 that the No. 1 prospect in the organization will begin his first full year with the Salem Red Sox, the Single-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.

“Not many 19-year-old get to this, so I just go out there and enjoy the process,” Mayer said. “It’s a lot of days we play baseball so I’m going to have to be consistent with my work on and off the field.” 

Back in 2021, under the newly designed Low-A East format, Salem finished with a 71-49 record, and although winning the division title, it wasn’t enough for them to advance to the championship.

“He’s a big-name guy,” Salem Red Sox Manager Luke Montz said. “He comes in here with his ears and eyes are wide open. I keep telling people this and then ask if I’m lying, but after every day he thanks me, and I still haven’t figured out what for yet.” 

Mayer will be joined by some other top prospects in the organization down in Salem with No. 7 prospect third baseman Blaze Jordan and No. 10 prospect right-handed pitcher Wilkelman Gonzalez both returning to the team this year.

Allen Lawrence, who has been the general manager for the Salem Red Sox since 2019 is excited to see what the young players like Mayer could bring to the ballpark and to the town this summer.

“He carries himself very well and has already garnered a lot of success in the clubhouse.” Lawrence said. “The fact there he is here in Salem is really special and anybody who is a baseball fan should come out and see this guy.”

Outside of him being a spectacular player, during his first week at Salem, people couldn’t help but notice how genuine and humble he was. After Salem’s 6-5 victory over Lynchburg on April 10, Mayer was the last one on the field signing baseballs for the fans.

“What stands out to me is how he carries himself on the field,” Salem Red Sox broadcaster Kevin DiDomenico said. “A story I like to tell people was after our sit-down interview he asked me my name again which shows that he wants to learn names and get to know us, he’s a down to earth guy.”

Not only is he winning the hearts over the Salem Red Sox organization and the fans, but the No. 4 overall pick had a stand-out weekend with a team-best .538 batting average and 6 RBIs. He also sits second on the team with a 1.230 OPS. 

Although the season is still in the dawning process, it seems if the Mayer hype-train has left the station and its full steam ahead for what could be one of the greatest Red Sox prospects in decades.