Cup of Coffee: Big Three go deep in Spring Breakout; Valera electric in Futures

3/15 Cup of Coffee: A special edition of the SoxProspects.com Cup of Coffee comes to you from sunny Fort Myers with a pair of high-profile spring training contests. On Thursday , Boston's top three prospects came as advertised as part of Major League Baseball's Spring Breakout showcase. Friday brought the Futures at Fenway South, with young hurler Juan Valera lighting up the radar gun in a victory over the Twins contingent.

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Spring Breakout: Rays 7, Red Sox 5

A collection of top prospects made their way up the Gulf Coast to Port Charlotte on Thursday to take on their East Division rivals. A vicious avian attack on Executive Editor Chris Hatfield and his WEEI boothmates Tom Caron and Rob Bradford proved to be a positive omen: moments later, Kristian Campbell (pictured, left, with Mayer) blasted an opposite field two-run homer to break a scoreless tie. Marcelo Mayer immediately followed, and back-to-back bombs by two of the game's top phenoms gave the Sox a 3-0 advantage. Not to be outdone by the other two members of the Big Three, Roman Anthony launched a mammoth 434-foot shot in the fifth inning. Mikey Romero delivered the squad's only multi-hit evening, going 2 for 4 with a double. 

Connelly Early drew the start, allowing two unearned runs in three innings, striking out a pair and walking one. Brandon Clarke showed off elite velocity, touching 99.8 miles per hour, but struggled in the fourth inning, allowing three runs. Cooper Adams put out the fire in the fourth, getting the final two outs, and Clarke was much more effective when he re-emerged for the fifth inning as he struck out the side sandwiched by a single. Hunter Dobbins allowed a run on four hits in two innings, getting saddled with the loss. Blake Wehunt came on for the ninth, striking out a pair and allowing a solo homer.

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Futures at Fenway South: Red Sox 7, Twins 5

Pitching took center stage back at JetBlue Park, as a trio of promising hurlers racked up 14 strikeouts in eight innings. David Sandlin struck out seven of the 12 batters he faced in his start. He walked a pair and allowed two runs on two hits in 2 2/3. Electric 18-year-old righty Juan Valera gave up a pair of runs in three innings, striking out four without issuing a walk and hitting 100 on the radar gun. Jojo Ingrassia gave up just one hit over 2 1/3 scoreless frames, striking out and walking three apiece. 

At the plate, Romero once again provided a highlight, blasting a two-run homer. Mayer was the only member of the Big Three in the lineup, going 0 for 2 with a walk and run scored. Justin Gonzales had a pair of hits, including a solo home run after the game appeared to be over. Yoeilin Cespedes also had two hits for the Sox. 

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Player of the Days: While the Big Three drew the headlines and some of the hard-throwing arms put themselves on the radar, Mikey Romero had the most consistently strong performance across the showcases. The 2022 first-round draft pick was 3 for 6 with a homer and a double as he looks to re-establish his prospect status after hitting some injury roadblocks in 2023 and early 2024. 

Photo Credit: Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer by Kelly O'Connor

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